University Northern Iowa Athletics

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Former UNI assistant coach Kyle Green will serve as the 26th head men’s basketball coach in Panthers history. He returns to UNI to continue a coaching career that has spanned over 30 years across multiple NCAA divisions.

Green spent 16 total seasons as an assistant coach at UNI during three separate stints with the Panthers from 2001-03, 2006-11 and 2012-21 under head coaches Greg McDermott and Ben Jacobson. He spent his last four years in Cedar Falls as associate head coach under Jacobson.

University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook and Director of Athletics Megan Franklin on Wednesday, announced that Green has accepted the position of head men’s basketball coach.

Franklin confirmed that Green has agreed to a five-year contract. 

It is a great day to be a Panther as we welcome Kyle back to UNI as our new head men’s basketball coach, said Franklin. Kyle brings over three decades of coaching experience to Cedar Falls with a deep and diverse coaching portfolio. A longtime former Panther assistant and associate head coach, his foundation has been UNI basketball and there is no one better to lead this program into the next era. We look forward to the opportunity for him to steward the next era of UNI men’s basketball student-athletes and build on the rich tradition this program has established. Welcome home, Coach Green!

Green returns to Cedar Falls after spending the previous five years as an assistant coach at Iowa State. 

A contributor to more than 300 Panther victories, Green helped Northern Iowa to four Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) tournament championships (2009, 2010, 2015, 2016), three MVC regular season titles (2009, 2010, 2020) and four trips to the NCAA Tournament (2009, 2010, 2015, 2016), including UNI’s historic run to the 2010 Sweet Sixteen with upset wins over UNLV and top-ranked Kansas.

In total, UNI players earned 33 All-MVC honors during Green’s time with the Panthers with three Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year winners, including his son, AJ in 2020. With Green primarily working with Panther post players, UNI recognized four MVC Sixth Man of the Year honorees during his time in Cedar Falls, while helping lead one of the top defensive units in the nation, which in turn resulted in a pair of MVC Defensive Player of the Year award winners.

I am incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to become the next head coach at UNI, a university and community that has meant so much to me and my family, said Green. We are so thankful to Athletic Director Megan Franklin and President Nook for this opportunity.

This is more than just a school or job to me and my family, Green added. It is a home. A place that has given so much more to our family than we could ever give back. A school with unparalleled history in men’s basketball. A tradition built by hall of fame coaches in Eldon Miller, Greg McDermott and Ben Jacobson. Coaches who I am fortunate to say are also mentors of mine. I don’t take the honor of carrying the torch forward lightly and cannot wait to get started. Go Panthers!

Green will be formally introduced to the UNI community as head coach at a press conference at a date to be announced.

He and his wife, Michele, are parents to AJ and Emerson, who both played for UNI.