Jon Silver came to San Diego State in 2016 and was elevated to assistant coach prior to the 2021-22 season. He was named one of the "50 Most Impactful Assistant Coaches" by Silver Waves Media in 2024.
The Aztecs won 22 games and advanced to the Mountain West Championship game in the 2023-24 season. SDSU had their second highest points per game in the Mountain West era (25 years).
In 2022-23, the Aztecs won 23 games and made the WNIT, their most wins and first postseason appearance since the 2012-13 season. SDSU led the Mountain West in points allowed (57.3) and had their best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.06) since the 1983-84 season. The Aztecs also won 15 home games, which tied a school record, and saw three players earn All-Mountain West recognition.
In Silver's first season as an assistant, he helped the Aztecs win their most games (15) since the 2012-13 season and set a school record for fewest turnovers per game.
Silver came to San Diego State in the spring of 2016 as the director of operations and was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director of Women's Basketball Operations during the 2019-20 season. Silver is in his 15th season working with Division I women's basketball
In his role as the director of operations, Silver was involved with all facets of the program. He administered practice and game schedules, non-conference scheduling, team travel, equipment, summer camps, fundraising, budget management, the team nutrition plan and all internal relations for the program.
Silver also served as the program liaison within the athletic department and has participated on four separate SDSU hiring search committees. Additionally, Silver was also responsible for advanced analytics for the team including lineup analysis, plus/minus charts, substitution patterns and offensive/defensive efficiencies.
In the 2019-20 season, Silver helped SDSU set program records for single-game attendance, average attendance and total attendance. It was the second time SDSU has set new school records for attendance since Silver arrived.
Prior to the 2017-18 season, Silver reformatted the program’s booster club, Full Court Press, and introduced the country’s first women’s basketball-specific customizable benefits package. Silver is also responsible for bringing “Field Trip Day”, “High School Night”, and “Stacie’s Squad” to San Diego State which has helped the Aztecs triple their attendance in just two seasons. Silver also organized and contracted a week-long closed scrimmage series against the Shanxi Xingrui Flame from the Chinese Basketball Association in August of 2018.
Silver has also served the women’s basketball program in dual capacities on six separate occasions. Prior to the 19-20 season, Silver was chosen to assist Executive Associate Athletic Director Jenny Bramer on SDSU’s Strategic Planning/Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Silver arrived on Montezuma Mesa after spending the 2015-16 campaign as an assistant coach at the University of Vermont. A Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) “Thirty under 30” honoree, the Catamounts nearly doubled its win total from a year prior during his tenure. The team also improved its defense in 2015-16, yielding five fewer points per game than the previous year, while increasing its rebounding margin by five boards per contest. Silver worked closely with assistant coach/Canadian Olympian Courtnay Pilypaitis to develop the team’s guards and ball handlers. Said former UVM guard Kylie Atwood, “Coach Jon was able to have an immediate impact with the team and advancing the individual talent this year. He brought new drills and an insightful perspective of the game that we all appreciated. He was always so positive and created a fun environment that motivated us to work hard every day. Through his character he represented a role model to follow.”
While at Vermont, Silver also oversaw the administration and contract negotiations for the program’s TD Bank Thanksgiving Tournament and was the team’s main liaison with UVM senior staff and administration. He is highly regarded for the strong recruiting ties he established in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Silver arrived at Vermont after four seasons on staff at LSU, working for head coach Nikki (Caldwell) Fargas. He was involved with all facets of the LSU Women’s Basketball program as director of basketball operations. Silver coordinated practice and game scheduling, team travel, fundraising, equipment, the student-manager program, community service initiatives. Silver also served as the program’s liaison to various other areas within the athletic department and throughout the community. His four years in Baton Rouge were highlighted by four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, including back-to-back Sweet 16 runs in 2013 and 2014. During Silver’s tenure, the Lady Tigers sent four players to the WNBA and 12 players overseas to compete professionally.
Silver executed the non-conference game scheduling for the Lady Tigers since Coach Fargas’ arrival in Baton Rouge in 2011. LSU’s 2013-14 overall schedule was rated the nation’s toughest by the NCAA as the Lady Tigers played 28 of their 34 games against RPI Top 100 opponents. The non-conference portion of the schedule ranked No. 2 in the nation and the team’s non-conference RPI rank was fourth. Over Silver’s four seasons with LSU, the Lady Tigers faced a top-30 schedule each year.
The Lady Tigers were also active in the community in large part to Silver’s efforts. In 2013-2014, the Lady Tigers led all LSU athletic teams on campus with an average of 23 community service hours per player. The program remained active in many community service initiatives and worked with many groups during Silver’s tenure such as the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, United Way, Charlie’s Place, Healing Place, the Gardere Arts Initiative, Woman’s Hospital, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and more. Silver also handled all scheduling for Coach Fargas’ appearances.
Silver also organized the Lady Tigers’ 2013 foreign tour. The team played four games over an 11-day stretch and made stops in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Alicante. Additionally, Silver helped rebrand the Lady Tiger booster club and currently oversees operation and fundraising efforts for Lady Tiger Elite. He developed the Lady Tiger Elite Bowling Classic, Lady Tiger Elite 5K Run/Walk, Lady Tiger Elite Poker Run and assisted Coach Perotti with the Lady Tiger Elite Golf Classic. The program raised nearly $20,000 annually from the bowling events alone.
In the summer of 2012, Silver was activated as a full-time assistant coach while simultaneously serving in the capacities of director of operations, interim director of video operations and camp director. In July 2014, Silver assisted in the organization of the first LSU Head Coaches’ Summit and acted as recording secretary for the group. He also served as the athletic department representative on LSU’s Staff Senate from 2012-2015.
Silver joined the Lady Tigers after serving dual roles at UCLA as video coordinator and staff associate during the 2010-11 campaign. With Fargas and Terry on the same Bruin coaching staff, Silver oversaw all video-related operations, including film exchange, pregame and postgame film breakdowns, capturing live games and creating weekly highlight tapes. As a staff associate, Silver organized the coaches’ recruiting efforts and worked closely with several other offices within the athletic department while assisting with the day-to-day management of the program.
Silver graduated from UCLA in 2009 with Phi Beta Kappa honors and spent three seasons as a practice player with the Bruin women’s hoops squad, including one season as head manager and scout team captain. Silver received his master’s degree in liberal arts from LSU in May 2017. He has also given multiple lectures, including two at LSU on non-conference scheduling and Marshall, detailing the inner workings of a Division I basketball program, and most recently at the University of San Diego in May of 2019.
The Jon Silver File
Hometown
Dresher, PA
Education
UCLA, 2009 (B.A., History/Political Science)
LSU, 2017 (M.A., Liberal Arts)
Coaching Experience
Year, Position, School
2006-2009, Scout Team, UCLA
2010-2011, Video Coordinator/Staff Associate, UCLA
2011-2015, Director of Basketball Operations, LSU
2015-2016, Assistant Coach, University of Vermont
2016-Present, Director of Basketball Operations, San Diego State