Utah State HC Jerrod Calhoun Reflects on Leaving WVU After Milestone Win

Utah State basketball head coach and former WVU assistant Jerrod Calhoun reached a career milestone Saturday, picking up his first win as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Villanova 86-76.

His first March Madness win was a long time coming, as he was the head coach at Youngstown State for seven seasons. Prior to that, Calhoun took a leap of faith in leaving his position as an assistant at WVU for the head coaching job at Fairmont State in 2013, a decision he reflected on in Saturday’s postgame press conference.

“Everybody’s stories, everybody’s paths, all of you guys here had to take some risks, had to take some chances. Mine was leaving West Virginia to take a Division II job,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun started at WVU in 2008 as the director of basketball operations for four years before earning a role as an assistant coach in 2011 under Bob Huggins. Despite having major success, including a 120-36 record at WVU and a trip to the Final Four, Calhoun took a risk in deciding to bet on himself and leave.

“I don’t know if there’s another coach in the country that would have done that. We had a $30 million practice facility in the Big East, and I wanted to be a head coach,” Calhoun said. “I went down the road to Fairmont State and started my journey with Joe Mazzulla and Paul Molinary and Mantras Robinson and here we are.”

Utah State will face Big 12 powerhouse Arizona at 7:50 p.m. Sunday. While Calhoun said he was excited for his first, he knows there is more work to be done.

“It’s not about me at this point, It’s about surviving and advance. But that was the turning point for me. And I always dreamed of this watching guys like Jay Wright and all the great coaches in the NCAA Tournament,” Calhoun added. “To get the first one, it’s special, but hopefully we get many more.”

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