Utah State is set to hire Northern Iowa’s Ben Jacobson to succeed Jerrod Calhoun as men’s basketball head coach, a source close to the program confirmed. ESPN first reported the hiring Monday morning.
Jacobson, 55, has coached the Panthers since nearly the turn of the century, as an assistant from 2001 to 2006 before being promoted to the head job. Jacobson’s 20-year run at the helm in Cedar Falls included five NCAA Tournament appearances, 397 wins and — most memorably — a 2010 run to the Sweet 16 which featured an all-time upset of top-seeded Kansas in the second round thanks to a magical 3-pointer from Ali Farokhmanesh with 37 seconds left. He’s also the Missouri Valley Conference’s all-time leader in league wins and conference tournament victories and won MVC coach of the year honors five times.
Most recently, Northern Iowa faced Rick Pitino’s fifth-seeded St. John’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in San Diego, falling 79-53 to cap off a 23-13 season, which included a Missouri Valley tournament title and the school’s first appearance in the tourney since 2016. Northern Iowa won Arch Madness as a No. 6 seed — the lowest-seeded winners ever — becoming the first team to win the conference tournament with four wins in four days.
Utah State is turning to one of the sport’s longest-tenured mid-major winners less than a week after Calhoun returned to his alma mater — Cincinnati — in the latest coaching change for a program that is now on its fifth coach since 2020 but continues to win. It’s a hire that gives Utah State an established program builder, on the heels of a Mountain West regular-season and tournament title and consecutive March Madness runs under Calhoun.
Calhoun went 55-15 in two seasons in Logan before taking the Bearcats post, a move expected to net Utah State nearly $3.9 million in buyout money. Calhoun was the fourth consecutive Utah State coach to leave for another job after three seasons or fewer, joining Craig Smith (Utah), Ryan Odom (VCU) and Danny Sprinkle (Washington). Utah State’s combination of sustained winning, financial flexibility and a looming move into the rebuilt Pac-12 in the 2026-27 season elevated the job’s profile during the search.
Jacobson, 55, breaks the mold of previous Aggies hires, who have been younger and faster-rising. At Northern Iowa, Jacobson has been less tied to the transfer portal churn that has defined recent roster building in college basketball, and more closely associated with continuity and player development. At UNI this past season, Jacobson returned 11 members of his 2024-25 roster, while 12 of 17 players were from a midwestern state (five from Iowa itself).
Utah State’s recent success has come despite operating with far fewer resources than many of its competitors, particularly within its own state, where programs like BYU and Utah carry financial and structural advantages. Calhoun told The Athletic that Utah State spent $2.4 million on this year’s roster, which trailed the Mountain West’s top tier. Yet the Aggies have continued to win, leaning on continuity where possible and culture as a differentiator.
Jacobson now inherits a program that has shown it can withstand change — but is once again navigating it.