Utah State is hiring Northern Iowa’s Ben Jacobson as the Aggies’ 23rd men’s basketball head coach in program history, the university announced Monday morning. The hire comes five days after the departure of USU’s former head coach, Jerrod Calhoun, to Cincinnati.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to join Utah State as it enters its next chapter in the Pac-12,” Jacobson said in a press release. “I’m grateful to [Utah State Athletics Director] Cameron Walker for trusting me to lead such a historic program and to continue its tradition as one of the top men’s basketball programs in the West. I look forward to getting to know Aggie Nation and the HURD, and for my family to become part of the Cache Valley and Logan community.”
The news was first reported earlier in the morning by from Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, and Pete Thamel of ESPN. Per the report from Thamel, Jacobson signed a five-year contract. Financial terms of the contract have not been publicly released or reported at this time. Cache Valley Daily has submitted a public records request for the offer sheet sent to Jacobson.
Jacobson spent 25 years at Northern Iowa, serving as its head coach since 2006 and amassing a record of 397-259 in that time and is the winningest coach in the program’s history. Under his guidance, UNI won four regular season titles in the Missouri Valley Conference, plus five conference tournament titles. His two most memorable seasons were in 2009-10 when the Panthers went 30-5 and made a run to the Sweet 16, including an upset of the one-seed Kansas. In the 2014-15 season, UNI went 31-4 and earned a five seed in the NCAA Tournament but lost in the second round to four seed Louisville.
After making four NCAA Tournament bids in an eight-year span from 2009 to 2016, UNI struggled to get back to the Big Dance. Jacobson’s Panthers went on a nine-year drought, posting only three 20-win seasons that span with an overall record of 154-128. But this past season, UNI went 23-13 and made a run in their conference tournament to earn the auto-bid from the MVC. The Panthers were given a 12 seed and lost in the first round 79-53 to St. John’s.
Jacobson will be the head coach for Utah State men’s basketball in the last seven years. The Aggies have cycled through Craig Smith (2018-21), Ryan Odom (2021-23), Danny Sprinkle (2023-24) and Jerrod Calhoun (2024-26) in relatively quick fashion. Despite this unusually high level of coaching turnover, the Aggies have qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last eight seasons and won six regular season or conference tournament titles in the Mountain West. Additionally, Utah State has also won at least 26 games in six of those eight years.
“Utah State is one of the country’s premier men’s basketball programs, and we needed a leader who embodies that tradition and is committed to building on our rich history,” said Walker. “Ben is not only an exceptional person, but across the industry is regarded as one of the best coaches in the country. He will be a tremendous leader and builder of men for our program. As we enter the new Pac-12, it’s critical that our leader drives us to new heights. Ben shares that same passion and vision, and I am thrilled to welcome him and his wife, Dawn, to Cache Valley.”
