Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson is finalizing a five-year deal to be the next coach at Utah State, according to an ESPN report.

Jacobson’s move will end a 20-year run at Northern Iowa, where he put together a 397-259 (.605) record that has included five NCAA tournament appearances. Jacobson has averaged 19.8 wins per season at UNI.

He has guided the Panthers to five NCAA Tournament appearances (most recently this season) and four NCAA victories. Jacobson is a five-time Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Coach of the Year and is the league’s all-time winningest coach in conference only wins with 220 and conference tournament wins (24).

USU, which is joining the new Pac-12 in 2026, is “expected to have significant resources to compete” in the league according to the report.

More on this move once it’s made official.