Weber State pulls off a coaching double-double

Jessica Kokesh, Marketing & Communications

WSU has two new head coaches to lead student-athletes to victory.

Jenteal Jackson became head coach of the women’s basketball program in April 2023. A Utah native who served as head coach at Westminster College from 2021–2023, Jackson is excited to be a Wildcat.

“I really believe this is a place where we can win, and I have big goals to win conference titles,” Jackson said. “I think there is a lot of room for success here and a lot of room for growth. There are a lot of great coaches and people that have come before me and done great things, and we are definitely going to try to take this team as high as we can.”

Jackson plans to tap into Utah and surrounding areas for recruiting. “I know there is a lot of talent in the state that we can keep here,” she said.

And she offers a good reason to see a game this season.

“We will definitely try to push the ball and play good fundamental team basketball that will be fun to watch,” she said. “We can’t wait to get going.”

The women’s basketball team opens the Big Sky portion of its season at the University of Montana on Dec. 29, 2023.

Mickey Mental, new head coach of Weber State’s football team, joined the Wildcats in 2022 as the offensive coordinator and helped lead the team to a 10-win season.

Mental said he hopes to continue adding to the strong legacy prior Head Coach Jay Hill and others have created at WSU.

“Weber State has been built into a perennial national program, and we are excited to get to work and compete for championships,” Mental said. “We want to be a tough, hard-nosed, blue-collar team with a great work ethic. I love coaching football. I love the group we have for this season and can’t wait to get to work with these young men.”

The Wildcats finished 6-5 during Mental’s inaugural season, including a 31-29 upset of No. 4-ranked University of Idaho in their final home game of the season.