Wichita State basketball hires former assistant Chris Jans for non-coaching position

Former Wichita State assistant Chris Jans is rejoining the men’s basketball staff on a permanent basis.

Shocker coach Gregg Marshall announced the move at his charity auction on Saturday, referring to him as a special assistant in the program. He will be a non-coaching member of the staff, which means he cannot participate in practices or recruit.

His responsibilities will be similar to ones he took on during the 2015-16 season. They will include film study, scouting reports, statistical analysis and observation and evaluation of players during practice. He will be allowed to sit on the bench during games.

“I am excited for the opportunity to rejoin the Wichita State men’s basketball program,” Jans said in a news release. “I am especially appreciative of Coach Marshall and (interim athletic director) Darron Boatright for making this happen. WSU is a special place, and I look forward to competing for championships and helping in any manner that I can.”

Jans spent last season as a consultant, working on multiple 45-day contracts for $10,000 each, at Wichita State. He was a regular observer at practices and did not attend most regular-season games. He helped the coaching staff prepare scouting reports, evaluated practice plans and worked with video.

Jans worked for Marshall from 2007, as part of Marshall’s first staff at WSU, until after the 2013-14 season. He earned a promotion to associate head coach in 2011. Marshall pushed Jans for jobs as a head coach for several years before Bowling Green hired him in March 2014. Bowling Green fired Jans on April 2, 2015 after an incident at a bar near the Ohio school’s campus. Jans acknowledged acting inappropriately toward some female patrons.

In October, Boatright said Jans’ firing at Bowling Green was discussed with him and in the department before hiring him as a consultant.

“We look at Chris as part of our family,” Boatright said. “It gives him an opportunity to still be involved in some level in the profession.”

Neither Marshall nor Jans returned requests for comment.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Wichita State basketball hires former assistant Chris Jans for non-coaching position."