Northern Iowa coach gets 10-year extension

After leading Northern Iowa to the biggest win in school history, Coach Ben Jacobson is sticking with the Panthers.

Northern Iowa and Jacobson have agreed to a new 10-year deal that includes a substantial pay raise, Athletic Director Troy Dannen announced Wednesday.

The agreement will increase Jacobson’s annual salary to $450,000 starting next season, with annual raises of $25,000 throughout the length of a deal that runs through 2020.

Jacobson’s old contract paid him $289,300 per year and ran through 2016. Northern Iowa said that no public funds will be used to fund the increase in the new agreement.

Jacobson, 39, is in his fourth season as the head coach at Northern Iowa and has won back-to-back Missouri Valley coach-of-the-Year honors. Jacobson led the Panthers to an NCAA tournament berth in 2008-09, and this season Northern Iowa (30-4) caught everyone’s attention by stunning top-seeded Kansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The team will play Michigan State in the Midwest Regional semifinals in St. Louis on Friday night.

Pecora to Fordham?

A person close to the situation has told the Associated Press that Tom Pecora has agreed to become the coach at Fordham.

Pecora coached Hofstra the last nine seasons, compiling a 155-126 record that included four 20-win seasons and three NIT appearances. Fordham finished 2-26 last season, 0-16 in the Atlantic 10. Dereck Whittenburg was fired five games into the season, his seventh at Fordham.

Ticket trouble

Kansas announced Wednesday that it plans an independent review of the athletics department’s ticket office and fundraising entity after a report raised questions about the sale of basketball tickets.

The Kansas City Star report quoted anonymous sources as saying federal investigators are looking into possible illegal sale of basketball tickets.