Jerry Finkbeiner steps down as head coach
On Monday, Utah State athletics director John Hartwell announced that women’s basketball head coach Jerry Finkbeiner is stepping down permanently as coach. Finkbeiner had already been absent from team activities since the start of the regular season due to a leave of absence for a non-life-threatening health condition.
Finkbeiner’s son and associate head coach, Ben, was coaching the team in his father’s absence and will retain those duties for the remainder of the season as interim head coach.
Finkbeiner was entering his eighth season at Utah State prior to stepping away on Nov. 6, the day before USU’s season-opening home game against Portland. He owned a 96-124 record with the Aggies. Three times in the seven seasons he coached after taking over for Raegan Pebly did Finkbeiner coach USU to a winning record — 2012-13 (18-14, his first season), 2016-17 (17-15) and last season, 2018-19 (17-16).
“Our time in Cache Valley and working for Utah State has marked a special period in our lives and I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of moving our program forward during my tenure at USU,” Finkbeiner said via press release from Utah State’s athletics department. “I have had the pleasure of sharing numerous experiences and memories with my many staff members and players over the last seven years, both on and off the basketball floor. I will forever be joining in with the chant, “Go Aggies” whenever the opportunity arises. I wish to acknowledge thanks and appreciation to John Hartwell, Jerry Bovee, and Amy Crosbie for their leadership and commitment to Aggie Athletics. Go Aggies!”
During his tenure, Finkbeiner oversaw two All-Mountain West selections (Jennifer Schlott, 2014 and Shannon Dufficy, 2019) along with two All-Freshman Team selections (Rachel Brewster, 2016 and Eliza West, 2017) and an All-Defensive team pick (Elise Nelson, 2014). Overall, 12 players under Finkbeiner earned some sort of All-Conference honor or honorable mention and 45 received Academic All-Conference recognition.
“We would like to thank Jerry for his dedication and service to the Utah State women’s basketball program for the past seven years,” said Hartwell. “We wish him and (his wife) Reva well in their future pursuits.”
Utah State is currently 2-3 with victories over Seattle and Long Beach State with losses to Portland, No. 1 Oregon and Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies will take on BYU in Provo on Tuesday. They will return home to play Dixie State on Dec. 2 and will begin Mountain West play against San Jose State in Logan on Dec. 4.
Twitter: @thejwalk67