Jason Larson has been a part of the NIU men’s basketball staff since 2011-12, spending his first two seasons as NIU’s Director of Basketball Operations before being promoted to an assistant coaching role prior to the 2013-14 season.
Larson has played a role in the rebuilding process at NIU that has seen a program which had produced just two winning seasons in the previous 15 years grow to earn its fourth postseason appearance, and the second-most wins, in school history in 2015-16.
The Huskies posted a 21-13 record in 2015-16 and accepted an invitation to the inaugural Vegas 16 tournament. NIU’s success came despite having the second-youngest team in the MAC, a squad that saw nearly 40 percent of its scoring come from freshmen.
Three Huskies earned conference postseason honors, including sophomore Marin Maric who was named to the All-MAC Third Team; Aaric Armstead was named to the MAC All-Defensive Team and Marshawn Wilson was recognized on the MAC All-Freshman Team. It marked the first time since the 2002-03 season that NIU has three all-league honorees.
In addition to its success on the court, the NIU men’s basketball team also achieved in the classroom in 2015-16, posting the highest team GPA on record during the 2015 Fall Semester.
The success of the 2015-16 season was a result of the building blocks set in place since Larson’s arrival with head coach Mark Montgomery in 2011.
During the 2013-14 season, Larson’s first in a coaching role, the Huskies engineered the largest single-season win improvement in school history, and the 10th-largest nationally for the season, recording a 10-win improvement, going 15-17, at the time it was NIU’s most victories since the 2005-06 season. The Huskies advanced to the second round of the MAC Tournament for the second time in three seasons while Jordan Threloff (All-MAC honorable mention) and Aaric Armstead (MAC All-Freshman team) earned league honors.
The Huskies continued to make strides during the 2014-15 season, Larson’s fourth at NIU. The Huskies posted a 14-16 record playing against a strength of schedule ranked 147th in the nation, NIU’s best since 2004-05, and posted its first winning non-conference record in nine seasons. Playing in a much-improved MAC, NIU also posted a RPI of 188, the school’s best since 2005-06.
A native of Manistee, Mich., Larson began his collegiate coaching career as a student assistant at Grand Valley before being promoted to a full-time assistant coaching role for the 2004-05 season, helping the Lakers win 18 games and mentoring Callistus Eziukwu to GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors.
Following that season, Larson moved on to Western Michigan where he spent two seasons as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations. The Broncos finished second in the MAC West in each of Larson’s two seasons in Kalamazoo.
Prior to coming to NIU, Larson was a member of the basketball staff at the University of Utah for four years. He began his time with the Utes as Video Coordinator in 2007-08 before becoming Director of Player Development for his final three seasons in Salt Lake City under head coach Jim Boylen.
Larson helped the Utes win the Mountain West Conference championship in 2009 and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Utah finished the season ranked 25th in the Associated Press poll and Luke Nevill earned honorable mention All-America and Mountain West Player of the Year honors. Larson helped mentor 13 all-conference selections during his time with the Utes.
Larson spent his first two seasons at NIU as Director of Basketball Operations; his primary responsibilities included scheduling, budgeting, travel, camps and on-campus recruiting.
Larson graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2004, with a bachelor's degree in broadcasting and a minor in Spanish. He also received his M.B.A. from Western Michigan in 2009. He and his wife, Juliana, reside in DeKalb and have one son, Leo.
