Over the past few weeks it appeared that Utah State would have to look for a new men’s basketball head coach again this spring, but that has reportedly changed.
On Tuesday morning, multiple outlets reported that Utah State and coach Jerrod Calhoun are finalizing a contract extension that would not only keep Calhoun in Logan, but would make him the second-highest paid head coach in the Mountain West Conference behind only San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher.
This comes after Calhoun’s name had been connected with several job openings in power conferences. The chatter was especially loud about him possibly becoming the next head coach at West Virginia after Darian DeVries departed to become head coach at Indiana.
On Tuesday morning, Field of 68′s Jeff Goodman wrote, “Shocked that West Virginia couldn’t get this done with Calhoun. He was the easy pick, especially with his connections to the state.”
Later Tuesday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the contract will pay Calhoun $1.85 million next season and he’ll get raises annually over the remaining four years of the deal after that.
The money available for assistant coaches will also increase as part of the contract, Thamel reported.
For Utah State, it brings some stability after the school has had to conduct coaching searches in each of the last two offseasons. First Ryan Odom left for VCU in 2023 (he was just hired last Saturday as the new coach at Virginia) and was replaced by Danny Sprinkle, who left Logan after just one season to become the head coach at Washington.
Calhoun, who replaced Sprinkle last spring after seven seasons as the head coach at Youngstown State in Ohio, led the Aggies to a 26-8 record this season and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, where the Aggies lost to UCLA in the first round.
On Feb. 22 following a big home win over San Diego State, Calhoun was asked about the chatter that had started to get louder regarding him potentially leaving Logan.
He responded by saying that he and Utah State athletic director Diana Sabau had started discussions on a contract extension after the team started 10-0.
“Obviously, we’ve now had a president change,” Calhoun said, referencing Utah State president Elizabeth Cantwell’s recent departure for Washington State, “but we’re in the process of trying to work out a long-term deal right now, to be honest with you.
“... I like where we’re at, and I like Diana’s leadership in this department.”