After a weeklong coaching search, Iowa men’s basketball will name Drake coach Ben McCollum as the 23rd head coach in program history.
David Eickholt of 247Sports reported on Sunday morning that both parties were finalizing a deal. Iowa agreed to a deal that night, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. McCollum will replace Fran McCaffery, who was fired after 15 seasons on March 14.
“Returning to Iowa City as the head coach of the Hawkeyes is a dream come true for me and my family,” McCollum told HawkeyeSports in a press release. “The passion of Hawkeye fans is unmatched, and I am incredibly excited to get started on this new journey together.”
“We are excited to welcome Coach McCollum and his family back to Iowa City, Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz said in the release. “Ben has a track record of success both on and off the court. His talent for developing student-athletes and fostering a strong team culture has been evident throughout his career. I am confident that Hawkeye fans will enthusiastically support the McCollum family as we embark on the next chapter of Iowa men’s basketball.”
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McCollum, 43, has compiled an impressive career record of 426-95 in his 16 seasons as a college head coach. McCollum spent the first 15 years of his coaching career with Division II Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Missouri, leading the Bearcats to four national championships and 395 victories in his tenure.
The Storm Lake, Iowa, native likely had many chances to make the jump to Division I, but felt the right opportunity was with the Drake Bulldogs. Drake was coming off consecutive NCAA tournaments, but McCollum had to rebuild the roster from scratch after previous coach Darian DeVries departed for West Virginia after the 2023-24 season.
McCollum brought over several of his Northwest Missouri State stars with him to Des Moines, notably point guard Bennett Stirtz. The Bulldogs didn’t have high expectations entering the year, but McCollum guided them to a school-record 31 wins, both the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles, and the school’s first Round of 32 appearance since 1971.
The success caused many in the national media to name McCollum as a trendy Power Four coaching candidate, but the coach opts to stay in his home state, where he hopes to guide the Hawkeyes back into the national spotlight for the first time in a few seasons. Iowa went 17-16 and missed the NCAA tournament for the second straight year in 2024-25. Roughly 5,000 fans attended games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season, the worst number for the program in 60 years.
McCollum will be one of three new head coaches in the Big Ten in 2025-26, joining DeVries at Indiana and Niko Medved at Minnesota.