Hawkeye Beacon can confirm that Ben McCollum will be the next head men's basketball coach at Iowa. Premium subscribers knew the hiring was expected.
After 15 years at Division II Northwest Missouri State and one year at Drake, McCollum will take the leap to coaching high-major ball for the first time.
“We are excited to welcome Coach McCollum and his family back to Iowa City. 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,” athletic director Beth Goetz said in a statement. “I am confident that Hawkeye fans will enthusiastically support the McCollum family as we embark on the next chapter of Iowa men’s basketball.”
“Returning to Iowa City as the head coach of the Hawkeyes is a dream come true for me and my family," McCollum added. "The passion of Hawkeye fans is unmatched, and I am incredibly excited to get started on this new journey together."
In his first and only season in Des Moines, McCollum led the Bulldogs to a record of 31-4, the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season title and the MVC Tournament title. As an 11-seed in the NCAA Tournament, Drake upset sixth-seeded Missouri in the first-round before falling to third-seeded Texas Tech in the Round in of 32.
In that same time frame of just one year, McCollum won the MVC Coach of the Year award, while Bennett Stirtz -- who led Drake in scoring (19.2 points), assists (5.6), steals (2.1) and minutes (39.4) per game -- took home the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year honor. Junior wing Tavion Banks also won the conference's Sixth Man of the Year award, posting ten points and 5.1 rebounds per contest.
One of, if not the greatest coach of all time at the D2 level, McCollum is highly respected in the coaching ranks due to his consistent run of success.
After a playing career at Northwest Missouri State in the early 2000s, McCollum started his coaching career as a graduate assistant before moving to Emporia in Kansas, where he served as an assistant for four years.
In 2009, he took over the head coaching position at his alma mater, proceeding to post a record of 394-91 (81.2 win percentage) and earning five NABC D2 National Coach of the Year awards, the most for a single coach in D2 history. He was also named Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Coach of the Year nine times. McCollum and the Bearcats won four D2 national championships (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) while he was at the helm.
In his 15 years in Maryville, the Bearcats won 12 MIAA regular season titles and eight MIAA tournament crowns. Individual honors by McCollum's players include two National Players of the Year, six NABC All-Americans and six MIAA Players of the Year.
Taking over the program from the hands of Fran McCaffery, McCollum will have quite an undertaking for the second year in a row and will need to reshape the program to the best of his abilities over the next six months.
Stay tuned in with Hawkeye Beacon as we cover McCollum's search to fill out his staff, add players via the portal and the high school ranks and works with the athletic department to grow the program.
READ MORE:
Four Players With the Best Chance to Follow McCollum to Iowa
Three Thoughts on Iowa Hiring Ben McCollum
Coaching Candidate Breakdown: Ben McCollum
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