Distinguished Alumni Award
Phyllis A. Jones (BS ’82, MEd ’87)
Head Girls Basketball Coach and Retired Athletic Director and Teacher, Westinghouse Academy 6-12
Throughout her 39-year career as a scholar, educator, and coach, Phyllis A. Jones has served Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Westinghouse Academy 6-12, the Girls’ Basketball team, and all students with pride and distinction. At Westinghouse, Jones positively impacted over 3,000 students by helping them reach their full potential, choose different life pathways, and write narratives of hope amidst a sea of challenge and tragedy. Under her leadership as head coach, the Westinghouse Girls Basketball team has won nearly 40% of all city league championships in the last 27 years. Many of Jones’ former players were inspired to become coaches, educators, or leaders in their own communities, and more than 60 received athletic or academic scholarships in college. Beyond coaching, Jones has published several academic articles as a scholar-educator, and she uses research to build her classroom and athletic philosophy. Jones has received numerous accolades for her work, including being named National Coach of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation, being inducted into the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, and receiving a proclamation from Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey in 2022. Jones participates in community and religious service as a deaconess at Rodman Street Baptist Church, former board member of Youth Enrichment Services (YES), Inc., project lead for the YES Fun Fitness Involving Sports and Health program, and leader of a “Summer Study for Success” independent study program for teens interested in careers in health, physical education, and athletic administration. A family-oriented individual who leads with family first, Jones is the wife of D. Floyd Jones and mother of three daughters, Carmin, Denise, and Melinda, and grandmother of Kassidy Jones.