Jerrod Calhoun Reveals How Travis Kelce Turned Him Down in Different Sport Than Football

The excitement around new Cincinnati Men’s Basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun is at an all-time high, and deservedly so.

Calhoun has established himself as a rising star in the coaching game. His rebuild of Youngstown State and stronghold on the MWC with Utah State, combined with his connections to the games’ elite coaching minds like Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics, make the reasons for excitement around Calhoun grow taller.

Connections With Legendary Alumni

Travis Kelce and brother Jason Kelce talk on the 4th tee during the first round of the American Century Celebrity Championship golf tournament. | Tom R. Smedes/Special to RGJ / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There are hardly any bigger brother duos in the sport than tight end Travis and center Jason Kelce. Both brothers played for the Bearcats, and both heard their names called by the NFL in 2011 and 2013, respectively.

The brothers have each gone on to have legendary NFL careers with a combined four Super Bowls, 18 Pro Bowl appearances, and 10 All-Pro teams.

The Kelce brothers had Calhoun on their podcast “New Heights,” where Calhoun spoke about recruiting Travis to West Virginia when Calhoun served as director of operations and as an assistant under Bob Huggins.

“It was around 2007, I had already kind of committed [to Cincinnati]. I was looking around at some basketball schools, and I go down to West Virginia, you're my point of contact. You guys treat me like family,” quotes Travis.

“Like I have never been treated before. I was Jason's little brother and Cincinnati didn't even give me this much attention.”

“...I came back from the West Virginia trip, and I told my dad, ‘Dad, I think I want to really, like, give myself a chance at playing Division I college basketball and play for Coach Huggins.’”

“He looked at me and said, ‘You are a man of your word. You want to be like these kids that commit to a university, and then decommit, and now the integrity of your word doesn't mean anything. You have to be a man of your word.’

Travis was this close to playing basketball for @CoachCalhoun_UC at WVU before Ed Kelce shut it down pic.twitter.com/Vbgkt8NWcf
— New Heights (@newheightshow) April 1, 2026

When Huggins was with West Virginia, the Mountaineers went to 11 NCAA Tournaments, including one Final Four. Huggins finished his career in Morgantown, West Virginia, with a 345-203 record. Calhoun was an assistant for the 2011-12 season, where WVU went 19-14, before taking his inaugural head coaching job for Fairmont State the following season.

With Travis focusing on the gridiron in his time at Cleveland Heights High School, he was not handed a recruiting ranking by any major service. Visiting the Mountaineers is no small task, meaning his 6-foot-6 frame could have served as a down-low threat.

Although I don’t think many will have complaints about how either brother’s careers ensued.

As Calhoun’s honeymoon period is still going on strong, he soon must turn his attention to compiling and finalizing his staff ahead of his first season at the helm, with the NCAA Transfer Portal lurking as well.

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