South Dakota State and men’s basketball coach Eric Henderson have agreed to a contract extension through the 2025-26 season, Director of Athletics Justin Sell announced. The extension adds two years onto Henderson’s existing five-year deal, which had three seasons remaining.
“Eric has done a terrific job in his first couple of years,” Sell said. “His energy, positivity and ability to create a family-like atmosphere give us confidence that our best years are right in front of us. I am grateful that he is committed to our student-athletes, university and community.”
Entering his third season as head coach of the Jackrabbits, Henderson has posted a 38-17 overall record and a 22-6 mark in the Summit League. Henderson’s squads have won at least a share of the Summit League regular season title in each of his first two seasons at the helm of the program.
Henderson was named the 2019-20 Summit League Coach of the Year, while leading SDSU to a 22-10 overall record (13-3 Summit) and a share of the regular season title in his first season before successfully navigating the Jackrabbits through the challenging 2020-21 season, finishing with a 16-7 record (9-3 Summit) and an outright regular season crown.
“Being a Jackrabbit is special,” Henderson said. “My wife, Alicia, and I, along with our four children, love South Dakota State and the community of Brookings. We are grateful to call this place home. President (Barry) Dunn, Justin Sell and the rest of the leadership make SDSU a special place.
“I am most thankful for the people who help provide our student-athletes a great experience. To the fans and alumni, thank you and I am elated to be your head basketball coach.”
Henderson enters his sixth season with the Jackrabbit men’s basketball program. He served three years as an assistant coach before earning the promotion to head coach in March 2019.
With a 24-1 record inside Frost Arena in his two seasons as head coach, Henderson has continued a string of home-court dominance. The Jackrabbits are 64-4 at Frost Arena during his five seasons with the program, parlaying that success into two NCAA Tournament berths (2017, 2018) and an NIT appearance in 2019.
Henderson inks contract extension at South Dakota State
