STARKVILLE — Mississippi State athletics director Zac Selmon wasn’t the one who hired Chris Jans. But for nearly all of the biggest moments in Jans’ two-year tenure as the Bulldogs basketball coach, Selmon has been there.

He was in Dayton, Ohio, when the Bulldogs took part in the First Four to cap Jans’ first season – which featured MSU’s first March Madness appearance since 2019. Selmon sat courtside this season, watching Mississippi State upset elite teams such as Auburn and Tennessee (twice).

Sunday, he joined the team at Two Brothers Smoked Meats, a local restaurant in the Cotton District, to watch the Selection Show in which Mississippi State (21-13) was unveiled as a No. 8 seed slated to face No. 9 seed Michigan State (19-14) on Thursday (CBS, 11:15 a.m.) at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

While it was John Cohen – now the AD at Auburn – who hired Jans, Selmon has gotten a strong view of why the former New Mexico State coach was brought it.

It’s Selmon who has seen the investment required in building the foundation of the program. In his second year as MSU’s athletics director, Selmon must add to it.

“I would say we’re in good hands,” forward D.J. Jeffries said after MSU’s loss in the SEC tournament semifinals Saturday. “Coach Jans, he knows what he’s doing. Him and the coaching staff put in countless work and countless hours to get us a game plan, help us go out there and do what we need to do. I'd say the future is bright. This is on the beginning for Bulldog basketball.”

Mississippi State extended Jans’ contract after last season – re-upping the exhausted year to meet the Mississippi maximum of a four-year deal for public employees. His salary jumped from $2.4 million to $3.2 million with performance-based incentives and an annual increase in pay.

Still, that salary sits in the bottom half of the SEC. That was before Florida extended coach Todd Golden and jumped his salary from $3 million to more than $4 million, according to multiple reports.

Jans’ name isn’t circulating around openings such as the Louisville job. However, a domino effect from the Cardinals’ hire could create an opening elsewhere that makes him a lucrative candidate.

Mississippi State may not have the same basketball budget as its in-conference foes – Florida reported $12.9 million in men’s basketball revenue on its last NCAA fiscal year report to MSU’s $9.08 million, though the formula for allocating revenue isn’t always cut and paste between schools.

Still, there’s a gap. But Mississippi State is making a clear effort to grow investment in the sport.

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MSU opened its doors to a renovated Humphrey Coliseum this season, and in an interview with the Clarion Ledger in December, Selmon said continued improvements of the arena are part of his vision and master plan for the athletic facilities.

Investment and success typically go hand-in-hand, and Mississippi State has both right now. Keeping Jans, who has won 72.5% of Division I games coached, at the helm is critical for the upward trajectory to continue.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Chris Jans contract: How Mississippi State basketball can keep coach