Report: Utah State hiring Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson

Field Level Media|published: Mon 30th March, 12:07 2026

Mar 19, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson speaks at a press conference ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Utah State is hiring Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson to succeed Jerrod Calhoun as the men's basketball coach, ESPN reported Monday.

Jacobson, 55, has coached at Northern Iowa for 20 seasons, compiling a 397-259 record and leading the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament for a fifth time in 2025-26. He took them to the Sweet 16 in 2010.

Calhoun departed last week to become the head coach at Cincinnati after guiding the Aggies to a 55-15 record with two NCAA Tournament appearances in two seasons.

Jacobson is finalizing a five-year deal with Utah State to become the springboard program's fifth head coach since 2020, per the report. Craig Smith, Ryan Odom, Danny Sprinkle and Calhoun all moved on to bigger jobs after taking the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament.

Utah State is moving from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 Conference next season.

Jacobson was an assistant at North Dakota, North Dakota State and Northern Iowa before taking over the Panthers in 2006. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year five times while winning four MVC regular-season championships and five MVC tournament titles.

--Field Level Media

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