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Utah State poaches Ben Jacobson from Northern Iowa: 'I have so much respect'
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- Utah State poaches Ben Jacobson from Northern Iowa: 'I have so much respect'
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Craig Smith as the current coach of Utah.
Utah State announced the hiring of longtime Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson on Monday, March 30, poaching the five-time NCAA Tournament attendee to replace Jerrod Calhoun.
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It's a splash hire at the mid-major level, especially with how long Jacobson spent at Northern Iowa. He has four NCAA Tournament wins in his career, including a second-round upset over No. 1 seed Kansas in 2010.
Utah State is one of the best non-Power program jobs in college basketball, and Jacobson will lead the program into the rebuilt Pac-12 next season. There, he'll be conference foes with Colorado State and coach Ali Farokhmanesh, his former player and March Madness hero from 2010.
REQUIRED READING: How Ali Farokhmanesh went from March Madness icon to Division I head coach
The Aggies have made six of the last seven NCAA Tournaments, and its coaches have gone on to earn high-profile jobs shortly after their tenure. Calhoun took the opening at Cincinnati after Danny Sprinkle left for Washington, and Sprinkle's predecessor, Ryan Odom, is now at Virginia. Craig Smith was the Aggies coach before Odom and took the Utah job. He was coach of the Utes for four seasons before being fired in 2025.
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"I'm thankful for the opportunity to join Utah State as it enters its next chapter in the Pac-12," Jacobson said. "I'm grateful to Cameron Walker for trusting me to lead such a historic program and to continue its tradition as one of the top men's basketball programs in the West. I look forward to getting to know Aggie Nation and the HURD, and for my family to become part of the Cache Valley and Logan community."
Jacobson leads the Missouri Valley Conference in all-time wins (220) and conference tournament wins (24), but the allure of the new Pac-12 was likely too enticing to pass up, as the league will be anchored by powerhouse programs Gonzaga, San Diego State and Utah State, to a lesser degree.
Numerous college basketball coaches commented on the hire in Utah State's announcement, including Purdue's Matt Painter and Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg.
"Ben is not only an exceptional coach but also a truly remarkable person," Painter said. "He has achieved tremendous success at Northern Iowa, and this opportunity at Utah State gives him the chance to build on that success both on the court and within the community. I'm excited for him and his family as they embark on this exciting new chapter in their lives.
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Hoiberg added: "Ben Jacobson is one of the great coaches in our sport, and Utah State is fortunate to land a coach of his caliber. He built Northern Iowa into one of the top programs in the Missouri Valley Conference for the past two decades.
"When I was at Iowa State, we played his UNI teams several times over the years, and you always knew you would be in for a battle. I have so much respect for the job he has done over the years."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Utah State poaches Ben Jacobson from Northern Iowa for coaching job
