Sunday, March 26, 2017
Staff Report
YOUNGSTOWN
A source close to the Youngstown State men’s basketball program told The Vindicator on Saturday morning that Fairmont State’s Jerrod Calhoun will be the Penguins’ next head coach.
Later, after Calhoun’s team lost in the NCAA Division II championship game, multiple local and national media outlets were reporting that Calhoun will be coming to Youngstown.
Calhoun just completed his fifth season at Division II Fairmont State, compiling a 124-38 record in the process. Calhoun’s Falcons fell in the Saturday’s national championship game to Northwest Missouri State, 71-61.
Ron Strollo, Youngstown State Athletic Director, declined to comment on the possible hire after the championship game.
Saturday evening, Shawn Rine of The Intelligencer in Wheeling, W. Va., tweeted that Calhoun told his team that he’s headed to Youngstown State.
Fairmont State had its best season under Calhoun this year, finishing with a 34-3 record, according to Fairmont State’s athletic website.
Calhoun was voted the 2017 Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year and guided Fairmont State to the No. 1 national ranking in Division II — its first time being top ranked in Division II.
Fairmont State’s worst season under Calhoun was 2013-14 when the Falcons went 20-10 and 14-8 in conference play. It was the only season Fairmont State didn’t make the NCAA Tournament.
Calhoun is a Cleveland native and was an assistant coach at Walsh and more recently at West Virginia under Bob Huggins before taking the Fairmont State job.
Prior to his coaching career, Calhoun attended Villa Angela-St. Joseph and played two seasons for Cleveland State under Rollie Massimino before becoming a student assistant at Cincinnati under Huggins.
Calhoun would be the first new head men’s basketball coach at Youngstown State since Jerry Slocum took over the program in 2005.
Since then, Youngstown State has gone 142-232 overall and 63-142 in Horizon League play, finishing no higher than tied for fourth place during the 2006-07 season.
Slocum retired on March 7.