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New Cincinnati Bearcats coach Jerrod Calhoun just finished his second season at Utah State and had the Aggies in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. They won 55 games in two seasons.
Utah State is located in Logan, Utah. Older Cincinnati Bearcats fans may recall that Rick Minter's UC football Team defeated Utah State in the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, marking their first bowl appearance in 47 years.
As for basketball background, Calhoun played at Villa Angela-St. Joseph in Cleveland and averaged 19 points per game, eventually playing for Rollie Massimino at Cleveland State. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2004, serving as a student assistant on the 2003-2004 Bearcats under Bob Huggins. That Bearcats team went 25-7 and featured Jason Maxiell, James White, Tony Bobbitt, Field Williams and Armein Kirland. Assistant coaches were current UAB coach Andy Kennedy and current UCLA coach Mick Cronin.
More: UC Bearcats hire Utah State's Jerrod Calhoun as next basketball coach
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He was an assistant at Walsh (a former Huggins school) and then worked with Coach Huggins at West Virginia from 2008 to 2012.
As head coach, he had five winning seasons at Fairmont State and was the 2017 Mountain East Coach of the Year. From 2017-2024, Calhoun was at Youngstown State, where he had four straight winning seasons to end his run with the Penguins. He was named the 2023 Horizon League Coach of the Year as well as NABC District 12 Coach of the Year.
Calhoun was 26-8 in his first season at Utah State and finished this season 29-7 after a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to No. 1 seed Arizona. Calhoun was recently named Mountain West Coach of the Year.
Two names were considered to be the best in this year's coaching cycle. Calhoun was one of them.
He and Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz were often considered the two best mid-major coaches in the running to move up to the high-major ranks. Kansas State had interest in both, but opted for Belmont's Casey Alexander, and Schertz recently signed an extension to stay with the Billikens.
Calhoun built the Penguins into a winner by the third year of his seven-year tenure. The Penguins' winning record in 2019-20 was the program's first since 2012-13.
In the final two years of Calhoun's time at YSU, before he left for Utah State, the Penguins had 24- and 22-win seasons. Before that, YSU hadn't had one 20-win season since 1997-98. He was the Horizon League's Coach of the Year in 2023. This was after leading Fairmont State to a 124-38 record, including an NCAA Division II runner-up finish.
Utah State made its second NCAA Tournament appearance in Calhoun's two years as coach. The Aggies entered the Mountain West Tournament as the league's regular-season champion and with a 25-6 overall record. Calhoun was named the league's coach of the year. They swept UNLV, Nevada and San Diego State to win the league tournament and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed. After beating No. 8 seed Villanova, they came up short in San Diego against No. 1 seed Arizona.
The Aggies earned a No. 10 seed last year, but ran into Mick Cronin's UCLA Bruins and lost in the first round in the battle of two UC grads.
Utah State has made the NCAA Tournament in four consecutive seasons. It was led by current Virginia coach Ryan Odom in 2023 and Washington coach Danny Sprinkle in 2024.
Calhoun got his start in coaching alongside former UC coach Bob Huggins, who had him as an assistant at UC before he later joined him in Morgantown for a successful run with the Mountaineers. That run included the 2010 Final Four.
Calhoun received a raise after his first season at Utah State, increasing his salary for this season to $1.85 million. That also increased the buyout total if he were to leave the Aggies early. The buyout is 70% of his remaining salary, so UC will owe just over $4 million to bring him to his alma mater.
Wyatt D. Wheeler of the Topeka Capital-Journal contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 things to know after Jerrod Calhoun named Cincinnati Bearcats coach
Continue reading...
Utah State is located in Logan, Utah. Older Cincinnati Bearcats fans may recall that Rick Minter's UC football Team defeated Utah State in the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, marking their first bowl appearance in 47 years.
As for basketball background, Calhoun played at Villa Angela-St. Joseph in Cleveland and averaged 19 points per game, eventually playing for Rollie Massimino at Cleveland State. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2004, serving as a student assistant on the 2003-2004 Bearcats under Bob Huggins. That Bearcats team went 25-7 and featured Jason Maxiell, James White, Tony Bobbitt, Field Williams and Armein Kirland. Assistant coaches were current UAB coach Andy Kennedy and current UCLA coach Mick Cronin.
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More: UC Bearcats hire Utah State's Jerrod Calhoun as next basketball coach
Jason Williams: Cincinnati Bearcats have lost their identity. They're not tough
He was an assistant at Walsh (a former Huggins school) and then worked with Coach Huggins at West Virginia from 2008 to 2012.
As head coach, he had five winning seasons at Fairmont State and was the 2017 Mountain East Coach of the Year. From 2017-2024, Calhoun was at Youngstown State, where he had four straight winning seasons to end his run with the Penguins. He was named the 2023 Horizon League Coach of the Year as well as NABC District 12 Coach of the Year.
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Jerrod Calhoun@USUBasketballpic.twitter.com/4j5otpF1gP
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 10, 2026
Calhoun was 26-8 in his first season at Utah State and finished this season 29-7 after a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to No. 1 seed Arizona. Calhoun was recently named Mountain West Coach of the Year.
5 things to know about new Cincinnati Bearcats coach Jerrod Calhoun
Jerrod Calhoun considered among top options
Two names were considered to be the best in this year's coaching cycle. Calhoun was one of them.
He and Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz were often considered the two best mid-major coaches in the running to move up to the high-major ranks. Kansas State had interest in both, but opted for Belmont's Casey Alexander, and Schertz recently signed an extension to stay with the Billikens.
Jerrod Calhoun built Youngstown State into winner
Calhoun built the Penguins into a winner by the third year of his seven-year tenure. The Penguins' winning record in 2019-20 was the program's first since 2012-13.
In the final two years of Calhoun's time at YSU, before he left for Utah State, the Penguins had 24- and 22-win seasons. Before that, YSU hadn't had one 20-win season since 1997-98. He was the Horizon League's Coach of the Year in 2023. This was after leading Fairmont State to a 124-38 record, including an NCAA Division II runner-up finish.
Jerrod Calhoun had Utah State in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments
Utah State made its second NCAA Tournament appearance in Calhoun's two years as coach. The Aggies entered the Mountain West Tournament as the league's regular-season champion and with a 25-6 overall record. Calhoun was named the league's coach of the year. They swept UNLV, Nevada and San Diego State to win the league tournament and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed. After beating No. 8 seed Villanova, they came up short in San Diego against No. 1 seed Arizona.
The Aggies earned a No. 10 seed last year, but ran into Mick Cronin's UCLA Bruins and lost in the first round in the battle of two UC grads.
Utah State has made the NCAA Tournament in four consecutive seasons. It was led by current Virginia coach Ryan Odom in 2023 and Washington coach Danny Sprinkle in 2024.
Jerrod Calhoun comes from Bob Huggins tree
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Calhoun got his start in coaching alongside former UC coach Bob Huggins, who had him as an assistant at UC before he later joined him in Morgantown for a successful run with the Mountaineers. That run included the 2010 Final Four.
Jerrod Calhoun's buyout at Utah State is...
Calhoun received a raise after his first season at Utah State, increasing his salary for this season to $1.85 million. That also increased the buyout total if he were to leave the Aggies early. The buyout is 70% of his remaining salary, so UC will owe just over $4 million to bring him to his alma mater.
Wyatt D. Wheeler of the Topeka Capital-Journal contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 things to know after Jerrod Calhoun named Cincinnati Bearcats coach
Continue reading...
