When Jerrod Calhoun first got the job at Utah State, he called all of his predecessors who made the NCAA Tournament to get the lay of the land.
Washington coach Danny Sprinkle. Former Utah coach Craig Smith. VCU coach Ryan Odom.
They offered their thoughts on the Mountain West Conference and the Aggies.
But somewhere in the process, it might have dawned on Calhoun why there was such a long list to call. The Aggies had been to the NCAA had made three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament — and three times, the head coaching job changed hands.
So the obvious question lingered when USU raced out to a 25-win regular season and another tournament bid. Would Calhoun be next to bolt for a better job?
“I told [athletic director Diana Sabau] after we were 10-0, I would sign a long-term extension. I’m hoping that comes to life,” Calhoun told The Salt Lake Tribune. “A lot of people have said, ‘Hey, stay in Logan and be the next Stew Morrill.’ That sounds good to me.”
It’s quite a statement from Calhoun. Even people within Utah State’s athletic department thought the days of Morrill — who lasted 17 years and won over 400 games — were long gone.
With USU’s NIL budget smaller than many programs, it felt like coaches just wouldn’t stay that long — not if they wanted to win at the highest level.
“The days of Stew Morrill being here for 17 or 18 years, those are anomalies that aren’t happening as much in our business,” interim athletic director Jerry Bovee said back in 2023 when Odom left.
But Calhoun’s loyalty comes with higher expectations. With USU making the move to the Pac-12 in 2026, he wants his salary in the top four of the league. He expects his assistant coaching pool to mirror that.
He also wants his NIL budget to be in the top four. Right now, it sits at sixth in the Mountain West. USU has roughly $700,000 to $800,000 a year, he said. But that is significantly behind San Diego State, which can run from $2 to $4 million, he said.
“I don’t want to be the top paid guy,” he said. “I think [SDSU’s] Brian Dutcher has done this a lot longer than me. [Gonzaga coach] Mark Few has won a heck of a lot more games than me. Same thing with [Oregon State’s] Wayne Tinkle. But what I want is to be in the top four in all three categories, or the top five, right? So that’s head coach, that’s assistant, and then that’s NIL.”
A big emphasis of increasing the NIL budget is about player retention. With high major schools looking to poach his players, being able to retain guys at a market rate will cost at least a million. This year, he has several young pieces, like point guard Mason Falslev, to retain.
“If you said, ‘Coach, what’s your long-term projection?’ To me, it’s about how can we retain the current guys that we have,” he said. “The Falslevs, the Karson Templins. We’ve got a lot of good players. The Drake Allens, the Dayton Albury, Jordy Barnes, Tucker Anderson. Then go into the portal and just add a few pieces. I think we can be just as good next year.”
Calhoun said the move to the Pac-12 wasn’t a factor in him wanting to stay long term. He believes USU could have won a national title in the Mountain West. But he thinks the Pac-12 will help push USU into a better space with NIL and revenue sharing with players — which helps with roster retention.
“Whether we were in the Pac-12 or the Mountain West, I felt that we would win a national championship here. Now, does it excite me to be able to play against Gonzaga and then all the other teams? Yeah,” he said. “The TV package gets better and there’s more money. That helps not only my sport, but all the sports.”
Calhoun said he doesn’t want to move. He has three young kids at home and insists he’s not a college basketball lifer.
He’s only 43 years old, but the clock started on his retirement.
“I’m different,” he said. “I’m not going to do this for another 20 years. I’ll be an eight- to 12-year guy and retire. I’ve never been a guy that has had their feet anywhere else.”
And he wouldn’t mind at all if his last decade in coaching occurred in Logan.
“The two jobs that I took over previously here were very, very difficult, right? So I’ve been a coach for 13 years. I felt like some of those years were 10 years,” he finished. “I don’t feel that way here. I love these kids, I love our team, I love our fan base.”
