- Ben Jacobson, 55, becomes Utah State's new head basketball coach, replacing Jerrod Calhoun.
- Jacobson, with 397 wins and five NCAA appearances, differs from previous hires.
- His experience aims to bring stability and player retention, crucial for program success.
LOGAN — Utah State announced the signing of new head men's basketball coach Ben Jacobson Monday before introducing him in a Tuesday morning press conference.
Jacobson replaces former Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun, who left for Cincinnati after two years in Logan.
When Jacobson takes the floor next season, he will be the fifth head coach in the last seven seasons. The previous coaching hires — Craig Smith, Ryan Odom, Danny Sprinkle and Jerrod Calhoun — all fit similar molds and checked similar boxes.
They were each new, up-and-coming head coaches from low-major programs — coming from South Dakota, UMBC, Montana State and Youngstown State, respectively, and all in their early 40s.
Each coach led the Aggies to new highs, with the program making the NCAA Tournament in seven of the last eight seasons. Utah State also advanced to the Round of 32 in two of the last three seasons.
Now, Utah State calls upon Jacobson, a 55-year-old head coach who had been at the helm of Northern Iowa for over two decades. While Jacobson doesn't fit the previous typical characteristics for a new Utah State coach, that doesn't mean he couldn't be just as successful as his predecessors.
Jacobson boasts an impressive resume with the Panthers, including 397 wins, five NCAA Tournament appearances, five Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year awards and one Sweet 16 appearance.
"I think my experiences are going to help us. … It's great if everything goes point A to point B, but how many things in our lives go point A to point B?" Jacobson said. "You're going to hit a speed bump, or you're going to hit a detour, and some you have control over, but more times than not, it's outside of your control."
Jacobson's experience brings a new element to the table that previous coaches have not had. Jacobson's long tenure at Northern Iowa, if replicated at Utah State, could also potentially bring stability to a constantly rotating head coach position, something that some believe is essential to continue advancing the program.
"I think it was important to look at ourselves and say, 'Why aren't we getting to where we want to go: the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and beyond?'" Utah State athletic director Cam Walker said. "When you look at those teams that do it, they've done it through sustained success, and that's really hard when you're hitting the reboot button every two to three years."
Jacobson has more NCAA Tournament experience than any previous head coach at the time of their hire and is the only one to have appeared in the Sweet 16 before coming to Utah State.
"That first weekend in the NCAA Tournament, that's special. But there's a next weekend, and there's a next weekend after that," Jacobson said. "Fortunate to have been there as a head coach and want to do that together. There's a ton of excitement in that."
As the Aggies raise their sights from a first-round win to a second-round win, player retention becomes a large part of that conversation. Jacobson has strong experience in that, as well, and has had strong player retention rates at Northern Iowa, including returning 11 players from the 2024-25 season to his most recent championship squad.
In the coming days, key players such as Mason Falslev and Karson Templin, both of whom were in attendance for Jacobson's introduction on Tuesday, will face the decision to stay in Logan or transfer elsewhere.
For Jacobson, keeping them around is a top priority.
"The most important thing with our basketball program is these players feeling great about continuing to be at Utah State," Jacobson said. "The most important thing to me is that they feel great about continuing to be here. We'll get that started this afternoon."
Time will tell if Jacobson is another name on the list of successful Utah State head coaches over the last several years, or if he's the one to buck the trend. While he doesn't check the boxes that previous new coaches have, the additional boxes he does check suggest continued success could be on the horizon for Utah State hoops.
