Conventional wisdom has proved wrong. Jones, who last season led the Eagles to the NCAA tournament for the first time as a Division I school, has signed a six-year contract extension that would keep in northwest Washington through the 2013-14 season.

Jones had left Virginia in 1998 under a cloud, forced to resign after a season of scandals involving several players. It was a sour ending to an eight-year run that included five NCAA berths with the Atlantic Coast Conference school.

Jones then spent a year out of basketball and worked a season as an assistant at Rhode Island before American offered the chance to become a head coach again.