End of the Campbell Era

Northern Iowa Loses to St. John’s

(St. Louis, MO) – When the buzzer sounded on Northern Iowa’s loss to St. John’s it also signaled the end of the Campbell era at Northern Iowa. Trey Campbell finishes his Panther career as one of the very best to wear the purple and gold.

During Campbell’s four-year UNI career, the Panthers made their first return to the NCAA Tournament in ten years, and won twenty games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in a decade.

Campell finishes as UNI’s eleventh all-time leading scorer (1,403) and he is the only Panther to have reached 1,000 points, grab 500 rebounds (513) and three hundred assists (333).

He’s had a special career.

In an era that includes extensive player movement, the Cedar Falls native stayed home and built a legacy. The 6’4 guard was a two-time MVC Honor Roll recipient and two-time all-league performer. He was a third-teamer in 2024-25 and a second-teamer this year.

Campbell was named to this season’s all-defensive team and is UNI’s third leading all-time steals leader with 174. His 220 three-point baskets are fourth most in Panther history.

The end of the Campbell era came suddenly Friday night. UNI lost to St. John’s 79-53.

Postgame Reactions

UNI got behind early and couldn’t climb out of the extreme, early game hole. During the game’s opening 7:14, the Panthers scored just 3 points and allowed 20. At points during the contest UNI would claw within 13 points, but St. John’s ability to defend and put offensive pressure on UNI was too much in this contest.

While head coach Ben Jacobson was disappointed with the loss, he spoke about his pride in his team.

“I love what these guys did to get us here,” said Jacobson. “I wish I could have put us in a couple different spots and helped them out a little bit more, and I know they wish they could have made a couple different plays. But we’ve got a hell of a team.”

Forward Tristan Smith enjoyed his one season in Cedar Falls.

“This was an incredible year,” said Smith. “ I mean, we had highs and we had lows. And I think it just goes to the credit and the culture that the Coach and the staff has built here. We were able to withstand them all. Most seasons are going to have highs and lows, but I think we stayed together as a team. And I think that was the biggest thing that allowed us to, when we got to March, be playing our best basketball.”

UNI returned eleven players from last year’s NIT team and Jacobson says the last two years have enjoyed success due to the continuity of Campbell and others’ willingness to stick around.

“It’s kind of a two-year deal for us,” said Jacobson. “Last year we win 20 and go to the NIT and everybody comes back. We graduated terrific as seniors, but everybody else comes back. So it’s kind of a two-year deal.”

Jacobson truly expected to upset the Red Storm.

“We’ve had three teams that were good enough to get to the Final Four,” said Jacobson. “And this team, we expected to beat them.”

Moving on from the Campbell Era

Presumably Campbell, Smith, Max Weisbrod and Ismail Diouf (of UNI’s rotational players) have run out of eligibility. There are questions around the eligibility of Ben Schwieger and the retaining players from the existing roster becomes priority number one.

Schwieger, Leon Bond III and Will Hornseth will be prime targets of other programs and for ‘Jake’ to hold on to.

“What you do now is you sit down with your guys,” said Jacobson. “I’m really, really thankful and grateful for the relationships we’ve got with our players. So we can sit down this week and talk about, coming back, because what you do is you get back and you get back here. And now we’ve got a little bit of experience with some of these guys that will be back next year. (We’re) excited about what the guys did. Really excited about where we’re at, you know, where things are at with our program.”

The Campbell era is over, but Campbell, himself, seems to be signaling how the UNI success will continue.

“We continue to work hard throughout the whole season,” said Campbell (prior to the game) and it’s starting to show off right now.”

Campbell showed off for four outstanding seasons and helped hoist the Northern Iowa back to the Big Dance.

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