Jacobson Signs Extension

Editor: The following is a press release from unipanthers.com.

University of Northern Iowa head men’s basketball coach Ben Jacobson has agreed to a two-year contract extension through March 31, 2027.

“Jake is one of the premier coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference and one of the best coaches in the country,” UNI Director of Athletics David Harris said. “While we didn’t have the success that we all hoped for this past season, we all have great optimism about our future because of Jake’s leadership. Panther basketball has gone to another level in success and national prominence over the past decade. Our teams are consistently competing for conference regular season and tournament championships and earning postseason berths. We are excited about further solidifying Jake’s place as the leader of our men’s basketball program.”

Jacobson completed his 11th season at the helm of the Panther men’s basketball program. He is the program’s all-time wins leader with 234 victories. Jacobson led the Panthers to their 14th consecutive upper-half finish in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2016-17. The Panthers finished league play at 9-9 and earned the No. 3 seed for the MVC Tournament – marking the eighth straight season that UNI has finished in the top four in the league’s final standings.

“I want to thank David Harris and President Mark Nook for their confidence in both our staff and our program,” Jacobson said. “We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our student-athletes over the past number of years. As we look ahead, our focus remains on raising the bar academically and competitively. We could not be more excited about the group we currently have and the opportunity to continue to lead our Panther men’s basketball program.”

Jacobson is a three-time MVC Coach of the Year and ranks No. 6 all-time for MVC coaching victories. He also ranks No. 7 in the league record book for MVC-only wins with 123 triumphs.

UNI is the only MVC men’s basketball program to have been recognized with a perfect Academic Progress Rate score in each of the last four seasons.