Kris Jacobsen is a true Pioneer in Carroll University athletics. Entering her 18th season as head women’s basketball coach, Jacobsen is the longest tenured employee in the Carroll athletic department, having joined the Pioneer coaching staff in 1998. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, she is also the athletic department’s Senior Women’s Administrator and Director of Compliance. From 2001-2010 she served as the Director of Athletics and coached the Pioneer softball team to two Midwest Conference Championships and NCAA Tournament berths in four seasons.
On the court, Jacobsen has established herself as one of the premier NCAA Division III women’s basketball coaches in the country and her program as a year-in and year-out contender for the Midwest Conference Championship. Her Carroll basketball teams have amassed a record of 257-159, including a mark of 180-102 in conference play.
Jacobsen’s hoop teams have qualified for the four-team Midwest Conference post-season tournament 10 times (1999-2000, 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015). Her 2001-2002 team finished the season at 20-5 overall and 15-1 in the MWC, reaching the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 1985-196 season.
On January 27, 2006, Jacobsen won the 100th game of her Carroll career in a 64-48 victory over Grinnell College. The following season, on November 20, 2007, she became the “winningest” women’s basketball coach in school history in a win over Millikin University, passing the mark of Dan Steffan, who was 132-120 from 1979-1989.
Jacobsen’s 2005-2006 squad hoisted the program’s first-ever Midwest Conference Championship and advanced to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament following a 64-57 upset victory over No. 14 Calvin College, giving the Pioneers their first-ever victory in the NCAA Tournament. After the magical run in 2005-2006, Jacobsen was named Midwest Conference and Central Region Coach of the Year. Her 2006-2007 team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, making it two-consecutive NCAA berths.
Jacobsen, a native of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., starred as an athlete at Lincoln High School and then at the University of Platteville, where she earned a degree in Business Administration. As a prep, she became the first player in Lincoln history to score more than 1,000 career points, and has since been inducted into Lincoln’s Hall of Fame. At Platteville, Jacobsen was a three-time All-WIAC selection and was named the school’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1989. She ended her playing career as Platteville’s all-time leading scorer.
