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Iowa finalizing deal with coach of NCAA Tournament team, per report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Iowa is reportedly close to hiring its new head basketball coach.
According to reports, Iowa is finalizing a deal with Drake head coach Ben McCollum.
The Iowa men’s basketball program has a new head coach. Ben McCollum will be the 23rd head coach in program history after leading Drake to a 31-4 record this season. https://t.co/42gK805Eco
— The Courier (@wcfcourier) March 23, 2025
McCollum, 43, was born in Iowa City and raised in Storm Lake. He began his playing career at North Iowa Area CC in 1999-2001 before transferring to Northwest Missouri State, He would begin his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State in 2003.
McCollum’s first head coaching job came at his alma mater. He held the job from 2009-24, posting a 395-91 record. McCollum picked up numerous conference and national Coach of the Year honors at Northwest Missouri State. The program won 4 NCAA Division II tournament championships (2017, ’19, ’21, ’22). McCollum’s teams were 32-7 in the Division II tournament.
The 2024-25 season was McCollum’s first at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa. He led the Bulldogs to a 31-4 season, including an NCAA Tournament victory over 6-seed Missouri. Drake’s season ended Saturday with a 77-64 second-round loss to Texas Tech.
Iowa dismissed long-time head coach Fran McCaffery on March 14. McCaffery, the program’s all-time wins leader with 297 victories, took the Hawkeyes to the Big Dance 7 times, but missed the tournament back-to-back seasons.
A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.