Butch Jones Forges 'Winning Culture' at Arkansas State

© Mickey Welsh/USA TODAY NETWORK

JONESBORO, Ark. — It's safe to say there wasn't much optimism surrounding the Arkansas State Red Wolves football program following the 2022 season. But slowly, head coach Butch Jones has been working to get it back on track.

After winning 75 games and five Sun Belt Conference titles from 2011 to 2019, Blake Anderson's 4-7 2020 season—his last in Jonesboro—gave way to the Jones era at a school rich with football history. In his first two seasons, Jones posted 5-19 overall and 2-14 Sun Belt records. Those numbers aren't much to write home about. They also aren't exactly indicative of a coach being a good fit.

Butch Jones Works Hard

For the first time in a decade, the walls of Centennial Bank Stadium were quiet; the energy surrounding a once-vibrant program was gone.

Slowly, though, Jones and the Red Wolves started regaining the momentum that permeated throughout Jonesboro during the prior decade. Arkansas State finished 6-7 in 2023, but the team went to a bowl game for the first time since 2019.

With momentum building behind the program for the first time in years, this has been a historic season for Arkansas State. A 28-21 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 23 secured a winning season for Arkansas State for the first time since 2019.

On Nov. 30, the Red Wolves have a chance to beat Old Dominion at home. If they do, then the Red Wolves would go undefeated at home for the first time since 2013. Now, if the Red Wolves can beat Old Dominion and secure a bowl victory, then the program would win nine games for the first time since 2015.

Arkansas State's seniors will play their final game inside Centennial Bank Stadium on Nov. 30. For them, seeing the program rebuild come to life is especially gratifying.

Arkansas State Seniors Praised

"Those seniors are the pieces of the foundation of our program," Jones said after the ULM win. "Not only are they good football players, they're even better people. They have very high character. Arkansas State football means something to them.

"We asked them to believe in our journey, and they stayed," Jones said. "They enforce our culture; they are our culture setters. They bring it every single day. They haven't blinked. (Culture) is about the little things. The details add up. We have a 'tuck your shirt in' rule. We're going through walk-through (on Nov. 23) and I look around, everybody has their shirt tucked in.

"I don't have to say anything because they (the seniors) enforce our culture," he said. "That's why you're 6-0 in one-score games, because of doing the little things right over a long period of time. This senior class has really helped us along the way. I'll forever be indebted to them."

According to Jones, the new culture that has become ingrained into the locker room is one of a team that "has learned to win."

"We're finding ways to win football games," he said. "What you're witnessing is a football team and a football program that has learned how to win. If you remember in Year 1 and Year 2, every single day I'd come in here and talk about learning how to win. Now, we have a group of players and a program that understands what winning football looks like. We're 6-0 in one-score games. That doesn't happen by chance. We're winning with culture, we're winning with connection. It's really good to see, especially for our older players."

With a 7-4 record, one regular-season game and a bowl game remaining, Jones' tumultuous first two years at the school couldn't seem farther away.

As the culture has changed at Arkansas State, so have the results on the field. Therefore, as long as Jones remains in Jonesboro, the winning culture he's established isn't going anywhere.