ST. LOUIS -- When his team scuffled through November and December, Ben Jacobson never flinched or wavered.

The University of Northern Iowa basketball coach realized he had his detractors -- those who believed the program was in decline and couldn't return to the glory days of Greg McDermott.

"I knew it was out there," Jacobson said. "I'm not blind, but I can sit here and tell you confidently it didn't bother me one ounce. I know I can coach, and we've got good players."

At 6-6, even his assistant coaches were "banging their heads against the wall" in staff meetings to come up with a plan to get things turned around.

"He just kept saying, 'We'll be fine,'" assistant P.J. Hogan said. "He saw the big picture. He didn't change. He stayed the course and continued to do what he believed was the right thing to do."

After a double-overtime home loss to an Indiana State team that was 2-9 on Dec. 28, many outside the Panther locker room had UNI pegged for the play-in round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

Instead, the Panthers reeled off a school-record 11 straight wins and eventually earned a share of their first regular-season championship in their 18 years with the Valley.

Thursday, the 38-year-old Jacobson, whose 56 wins are the most for a UNI coach in his first three seasons, was the first UNI coach since Eldon Miller in 1997 to be named the conference's coach of the year.

"He knew from the beginning what this team was capable of," UNI director of athletics Troy Dannen said. "He didn't stop when things weren't going well. He made sure they knew what they were capable of, and he got out of them what they were capable of."

Jacobson felt his team needed game experience. Once that happened, the puzzle would come together.

"I wasn't happy with our record in December, but I felt great when I went home after practice," he said. "These guys were on the same page, and I knew we had a chance to get better. We just needed to play games."

Away from the floor

Raised in Maryville, N.D., and valedictorian of his high school class, Jacobson attended the University of North Dakota and was a four-year letterwinner on the basketball team.

Following his playing career, he stayed on as a graduate assistant and was eventually promoted to a full-time assistant. It was at that point he met his future wife, Dawn, a member of the Fighting Sioux golf team.

In fact, the couple's first date was a round of golf.

"At that time, she was a much better golfer than I was," Jacobson said. "I was most interested in not embarrassing myself to a level I couldn't recover from."

The two dated for three to four years before getting married in the fall of 2001 -- the same year Jacobson joined McDermott's staff at UNI.

Now, the couple have two children -- Hunter (5) and Tanner (3).

"He's a great father," Dawn said. "With being a coach and the time commitment that's there, it could raise some problems at home, but it never has. The time with me and the boys is good, quality time."

Jacobson said that balance wasn't always there.

"For a long stretch, there was no in-between," Jacobson said. "Everything related to basketball. If we were doing great, I was going great. If we were doing poorly, I was doing poorly."

But having children and seeing McDermott's wife, Theresa, battle breast cancer gave him a new appreciation and importance for family.

"A lot of times we say our family is the most important thing and I was great at saying it, but as I look back at it, my actions haven't always followed it," Jacobson said. "Is it perfect now? No, but I'm much better."

Now, regardless of how practice goes or what game looms on the schedule, he makes it a priority to spend at least an hour or two at night with his family.

"Hunter and Tanner don't have any idea if we're doing great or doing poorly," he said. "They just want to hang out. It has helped me put some distance and separation between how our team is doing at a particular moment and spending quality time with the family."

And even when he comes home after a difficult defeat, his focus shifts from basketball to family.

"He'll be wrestling and playing with the boys, or tucking them in at night," Dawn said. "The thing that helped him the most with that was seeing how (McDermott) dealt with things at home."

Coach's personality

Competitive? Yes. Demonstrative? Definitely not.

Ask his players, those who work for him or his wife about Jacobson's personality and the responses are nearly identical.

"He's really low key and mellow," guard Ali Farokhmanesh said.

"He's pretty calm, cool and collected all the time," Hogan noted.

"He's quiet, conservative and even-keel," Dawn said.

So when Dawn sees her husband jawing with an official over a call, she gets amused.

"I get a kick out of it because that's not like him at all," she said. "He's so even-keeled and mellow. Nothing gets him too worked up."

Jacobson's practices are relatively laid-back. He rarely screams or calls a player out for a mistake. That approach carries over to game nights. Whether it's a non-conference tilt against Chicago State or a contest for the league title, Jacobson's demeanor is the same on the sideline.

"He's never gotten too down, and he's never gotten too up," Dannen said. "His personality successfully wears off on his players."

Because of that, the players enjoy suiting up for him.

"On and off the floor, he's real calm," junior Adam Koch said. "It's nice to play for a coach like that. He instills a lot of confidence in us."

Learning experiences

When Jacobson inherited the program from McDermott, the Panthers won 13 of their first 15 games in the 2006-07 season. UNI looked like a lock for postseason play.

What followed was 10 losses in the next 13 games. The Panthers finished 18-13 and lost in the opening round of the MVC tournament.

"I wish I could go back and do a couple things differently that maybe would have helped that group win two or three more games and play in the NIT," he said.

Last year was one of Jacobson's most trying seasons, but maybe one of his best coaching jobs.

After incoming junior college point guard Matt Culliver was kicked off the team for a legal situation in the fall and Kwadzo Ahelegbe missed the year because of a shoulder injury, Jacobson was forced to move shooting guard Jared Josten to point.

UNI managed to win 18 games, but the Valley season was a roller coaster and scoring points was like a visit to the dentist.

"I couldn't quite get that team all on the same page," he said. "That bothered me when I went home at night.

"Every day was difficult at practice because we didn't have a point guard. The injury we had no control over, but recruiting I do."

In addition to its lack of personnel, Jacobson had distractions within the team that prevented the club from being a cohesive unit.

"Everybody has to be 100 percent bought into what you're doing," he said. "If there's any selfishness, it's going to affect everybody. It wasn't a lot, but it doesn't take a lot."

From the outside, Dannen -- a former season-ticket holder -- applauded the job Jacobson did.

"I saw him win 18 games with a lineup that had a lot of holes in the guard court and a center in Eric Coleman who was different than the guy that played the previous three years," Dannen said. "To think they won 18 games, that told me a lot."

Now, Jacobson enjoys coming to work. He hasn't had problems off the court or egos to control.

"I've spent all my time thinking about Xs and Os, things I should be doing," he said. "I'm not trying to figure out how to get this guy to play hard or this guy to accept his role.

"That's been more fun than the accomplishments we'll look back on."

FOLLOW THE GAME LIVE AT COSS' BLOG: http://www.wcfcourier.com/blogs/coss/.

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com.

COACH OF THE YEAR VOTING

Coach School 1st 2nd 3rd Total

Ben Jacobson Northern Iowa 34 5 - 112

Dana Altman Creighton 4 14 11 51

Marty Simmons Evansville 2 13 14 46

Jim Les Bradley - 4 3 11

Gregg Marshall Wichita State - 3 4 10

The Jacobson Bio

Age: 38

Hometown: Mayville, N.D.

Family: Wife - Dawn; Children - Hunter (5); Tanner (3)

Education: University of North Dakota, bachelor's in physical education

Coaching experience: 1994-96 (North Dakota, graduate assistant); 1996-2000 (North Dakota, assistant coach); 2000-01 (North Dakota State, assistant coach); 2001-05 (UNI, assistant coach); 2005-06 (UNI, associate coach); 2006-present (UNI coach).