Congratulations to Ron Strollo on a terrific hire. He identified a tremendous candidate that fit the credentials across the board. Calhoun is a native of nearby East Liverpool. He eventually ended up in Cleveland and has been coaching across this region since he graduated from CSU. He has D2 head coaching experience and high level D1 assistant coaching experience. From what I heard early last week he was the guy. Dana Balash went so far as to say he heard from a source at the start of the search that Calhoun to YSU was going to happen and that he wanted the job.
Announcement of Hiring Calhoun from Strollo on YSU website:
Jerrod Calhoun, who led Fairmont State University to the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship game, has been named the 13th men's basketball Head Coach at Youngstown State University, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ron Strollo announced today.
"Jerrod Calhoun brings every attribute that we were looking for in a head coach to our basketball program," Strollo said. "Not only does he have an enormously successful track record as a head coach, he also has experience with a high-major Division I program as an assistant coach, strong regional recruiting ties and a passion to be at Youngstown State.
"Jerrod is highly motivated to build our program, connect with our community and make a positive impact on the lives of our student-athletes."
Calhoun, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, spent the last five seasons as the head coach at Fairmont State and accumulated an overall record of 124-38. He guided FSU to the NCAA Division II Tournament in each of the last three years and four times overall. The Falcons won at least 20 games in each of his five seasons and won nearly 80 percent of their conference games.
"First of all, I want to thank President (Jim) Tressel, Athletic Director Ron Strollo and the entire YSU community for the opportunity to lead this program," Calhoun said. "I am from Northeast Ohio, I have family all over Northeast Ohio and I know people in the Mahoning Valley love sports. We're excited to build and grow a program that people love to watch.
"There are many really good things happening at Youngstown State, and we want basketball to be a part of that. I believe you build it with people, and the people of Youngstown State drew me to this job. The administration, the campus and the city are all full of good people."
The 2017 Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year, Calhoun directed the Fighting Falcons to an overall record of 34-3 and the program's first national runner-up finish in 2016-17. Fairmont State won its first conference championship in 21 years with a mark of 21-1 and received its first NCAA Division II No. 1 ranking since 1976. The program also won 30-or-more games for the first time since 1974-75.
Calhoun was a successful assistant coach at Walsh and most recently at West Virginia under Bob Huggins. He spent four years at WVU as the director of basketball operations before serving as an assistant coach in 2011-12.
The Mountaineers went 19-14 during Calhoun's last season there and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. During his five years in Morgantown, W.Va., the Mountaineers posted an overall record of 120-36 with five NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2010 Final Four and the 2008 Sweet 16.
At Walsh, the Cavaliers posted an 82-21 record during his three seasons in North Canton, Ohio. Walsh won the 2005 NAIA national championship while advancing to the Elite Eight in 2006 and the Sweet 16 in 2007.
Calhoun, a 2004 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, began his coaching career at Cincinnati in 2003-04, where he served as a student assistant under Huggins. That year, the Bearcats were 25-7 overall and advanced to the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
"There's a lot of excitement around here, and we want the basketball program to be a part of that," Calhoun said. "Our players will be a part of the community. They'll be visible, they'll be active and we'll build a program that makes this university and the Mahoning Valley proud."
