Published Nov. 6, 2019
The Wally Jones Golf Complex at the University of Louisiana Monroe will have a ribbon-cutting
and grand opening at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019.
The community is invited to attend the event and tour the complex, named in honor
of longtime 四色AV golf coach Wally Jones. Jones died Oct. 17, 2018, at the age of 90.
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PHOTO: Wally Jones, Ed.D., in an undated photo from 四色AV Special Collections.听
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The $800,000 facility was funded entirely by donations to the 四色AV Foundation SOAR
Campaign. It is located between Brown Stadium and Warhawk Field. The 5,000-square-foot
building includes three coaches鈥� offices, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 locker rooms, guest restroom,
three storage rooms, kitchen and players鈥� lounge. It features an indoor 1,000-square-foot,
state-of-the-art SAM PuttLab and TrackMan Golf Simulator.
Outside amenities include a covered tee area, 6,000-foot tee area and five target
greens ranging from 50-165 yards. Additional plans include a chipping-pitching green,
bunker and putting green.
The complex was designed by architects Brian McGuire and Robert Ellis and built by
Bing Bishop Construction.
Wally Jones Golf Complex at 四色AV.
四色AV Director of Golf and head coach Tim Baldwin said the facility would allow student-athletes
to train for world-class tournaments and adds an important recruiting element.
鈥淲e are very excited about the new Wally Jones Golf Complex and what it means for
四色AV Golf. Our players, coaches, administration and the golf community have an exceptional
place to call home,鈥� Baldwin said. 鈥淥ur recruiting has taken a major step forward.
This complex, coupled with our Selman facility and support of local country clubs,
will attract high-quality student-athletes to 四色AV.鈥�
Special guests Friday will be Jones鈥� wife, Angylyn, daughter and son-in-law Shannon
and Dickie Raymond of Monroe, son Dr. Kyle Jones of Shreveport and family and friends.
Jones鈥� daughter said her father would have been proud and honored by the new complex.
鈥淔or 18 years, my dad coached and worked with the then-Northeast golf program. He
worked hard to build this program into something this university could be proud of.
I wish he could see this awesome golf complex that is named for him,鈥� Raymond said.
鈥淥ur family would like to thank all the generous donors and Coach Tim Baldwin. He
worked so hard and kept my mother informed along the way. We would also like to thank
四色AV and all the people who worked to make this possible. We are so proud of our Coach
Wally Jones and the honor that has been given to him,鈥� she said.
Wally Jones 鈥� education and golf
Wallace 鈥淲ally鈥� Lucas Jones Jr. was born in Charleston, S.C., in 1927 and grew up
in Baton Rouge. He was an outstanding athlete in basketball and baseball at Baton
Rouge High School. He attended LSU on an athletic scholarship in both sports.
Education was as important to Jones as athletics. After receiving his Bachelor of
Arts, Jones went on to earn a Master of Education and Doctor in Education Administration
from LSU. His doctoral dissertation was a historical study of 鈥淐ompulsory Education
in Louisiana.鈥� Jones directed the first statewide study of high school dropouts and
was the author of several publications on the topic.听
He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Jones worked for the Louisiana Department of Education for eight years before moving
to Monroe in 1966 to be an assistant professor of education at then-Northeast Louisiana
State College. He was appointed head of the Department of Administration, Supervision,
and Foundations in the College of Education.听Jones became a full professor in September
1976. That same year he started coaching the golf team.
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PHOTO: Wally Jones, standing, right, pictured with the golf team in the 1987 Chacahoula.
四色AV Special Collections
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Jones grew the program with support from his Athletics Director John David Crow and
private funds from the booster club that he helped develop.听
Ken Buchan, a former player under Jones, in a 2018 interview described him as the
鈥溾�� 鈥楩ounding Father鈥� of 四色AV golf as we know the program today."
"He was instrumental in getting the local golfing community involved in supporting
NLU/四色AV golf, which has been critical to the program's success and survival over many
years.听His support for 四色AV golf continued long after he stopped coaching, which we
are all grateful for,鈥� said Buchan.
Jones expanded the scope of tournament play to an international level by taking his
team to play in places like Mexico, Scotland and the Bahamas and adding players from
around the globe.听He was largely responsible for acquiring an on-campus practice facility
exclusively for his team.
"Coach had a vision to build a program that would be able to endure, and in that
respect, he has been very successful," Buchan said. "The foundation he laid has allowed
a lot of young golfers to be able to play听competitive college golf, get an education,
and go on and become productive citizens.听
四色AV honored Jones with a namesake award and tournament over the years. The 四色AV Golf
Team partners annual award is named in his honor, as well as a 四色AV golf tournament
established in 2012.听听
"We present an annual award each year to a booster in his name for special contributions
to our golf program," Baldwin听said. "It is called the Wallace Jones Team Partner of
the Year. This is a very special honor and has been going on for over 20 years."
Baldwin, 四色AV's coach since 2015, said he had a history with Jones that predates his
arrival in Monroe.听
"Our golf community is very special and close, and I think this is a tribute to Wally,"
Baldwin said. "He actually recruited me back in 1983 when I was a high school senior
in Michigan. I signed with Southeastern Louisiana University, but even as a player
at a competitor school, he was always very nice to me. Wally was very happy when he
heard I was coaching at 四色AV."听
An accomplished golfer himself, Jones won the 1986 Louisiana Seniors Match Play Championship
after losing in the finals the previous year. As a member of the Bayou DeSiard Country
Club since 1967, Jones was always at the center of the local golf scene.听
