Utah State hires Ben Jacobson as new men’s basketball head coach
For the fifth time in the last seven years, Utah State will have a new head men’s basketball coach next season. Ben Jacobson, after being officially announced as the new head man on March 30, was introduced on the morning of March 31 in the West Stadium Center at Maverik Stadium.
Jacobson was introduced by USU President Brad L. Mortensen and Vice President and Director of Athletics Cam Walker.
“Today is not just about a new head coach. It’s about the next chapter of Utah State basketball,” Walker said. “That next chapter will be built on the same things that have always made this program strong.”
Jacobson takes over as the 23rd head coach in Utah State Men’s Basketball history, taking over for former head coach Jerrod Calhoun, who left for the University of Cincinnati on March 24.
Jacobson comes to Logan after over 20 years as the head coach at the University of Northern Iowa, where he posted an overall record of 397-259. Jacobson led the Panthers to five NCAA tournament appearances, with a tournament record of 4-5 and one Sweet 16 appearance in 2010.
Jacobson was also named the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year five times during his tenure at UNI.
“He’ll be a great ambassador for the university overall and help us continue to have winning basketball teams and to really represent the university well,” Mortensen said. “I think Ben Jacobson is very well positioned to do that for us.”
Jacobson spoke initially of the importance of relationships in basketball and how building relationships is one of the most important jobs of a coach.
“This isn’t about offense and defense, and this is about relationships and building those and having them be in a place where you’re able to accomplish special things,” Jacobson said. “We’re going to build relationships that extend far beyond hoops.”
Jacobson also spoke of the importance of the players, speaking directly to those who were in attendance.
“Programs only thrive with leadership by the players and player-led programs. This is your program. I’m here to help you,” Jacobson said. “I cannot wait to get to this afternoon and the reason being that we get to get together. We get to get together and sit down and start going on this thing.”
Players in attendance included Mason Falslev, Karson Templin, Jordy Barnes, Zach Keller, Luke Kearney, Brayden Boe and Tucker Anderson.
As many of those players weigh potential future options, including whether or not to stay at Utah State, Jacobson hopes to keep them around as long as possible.
“The most important thing with our basketball program is these players feeling great about continuing to be at Utah State,” Jacobson said. “We’ll get that started this afternoon.”
Jacobson has a history of keeping players in his program, as 11 players from his 2024-25 team stuck around for his 2025-26 NCAA tournament team.
“That has been our formula. That has been the way I approach things,” Jacobson said. “I hope and I think they can get a little bit of a feel for how I’m wired. Finding out what it is that they want and what it is that I can do to help them — that’s where it’ll start.”
Utah State’s previous new head coaching hires are typically younger, newer head coaches that are still on their way up in their careers. That is part of the reason they haven’t had a coach longer than three consecutive years since Stew Morrill.
Jacobson breaks that pattern as a 55-year-old who’s been a head coach for over two decades, doing so at just one institution.
“He’s had success, and then he’s figured out how to do it again and figured out how to do it again after some years that weren’t as successful,” Mortensen said. “I think that appealed to us as much as anything.”
Utah State’s most recent NCAA tournament trip ended in the Round of 32 for the second time in the last three years. While the Aggies have made the Big Dance in each of the last four years, a program record, they’re still eyeing that elusive third round.
“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.”
Calhoun came to Utah State without an NCAA tournament appearance as a head coach. Jacobson comes with extensive experience and has advanced to that second weekend, which is what USU has identified as the next step for the program.
“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 and sometimes after one year,” Walker said. “As we try and elevate this program, getting an experienced leader — he’s very accomplished, has done incredible things, has been to where we want to go — but to be able to have some trust that he’s going to sustain that for a while was important as part of this decision.”