Iowa Looks to End Long Tournament Drought With Ben McCollum Hire

Iowa men’s basketball has lived in the shadow of the Hawkeyes women’s program and former superstar Caitlin Clark in recent years.

Head Coach Ben McCollum of the Drake Bulldogs reacts during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Missouri Tigers at INTRUST Arena in Wichita, Kan., on March 20, 2025. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

While Caitlin Clark has put Iowa women’s basketball on the map in recent years, the Hawkeyes men’s program has been relatively quiet.

The Hawkeyes haven’t reached the Sweet 16 since 1999, and Iowa hasn’t been to the Elite Eight or Final Four since the 1980s. That’s despite the program producing winning seasons annually since 2017-2018, and the Hawkeyes have only had one losing season since 2011-2012.

As Iowa’s latest coaching hire on March 24, former Drake head coach and Iowa native Ben McCollum will try to improve on that. McCollum led Drake to the NCAA tournament this season, and the Bulldogs (31–4) won a game at the tournament for the first time since 1971. He also won Missouri Valley Coach of the Year as the Bulldogs won the league regular season title and conference tournament title in his first year.

“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,” Iowa’s Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippe director of athletics chair 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.”

For the previous 15 years, McCollum led the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats to dominance in Division II, with four national titles, 11 consecutive MIAA titles, and a 394–91 mark. Before NWMSU, McCollum got started in coaching as a graduate assistant with the Bearcats in 2003-2005. He then landed an assistant job with Division II Emporia State from 2005-2009.

“Returning to Iowa City as the head coach of the Hawkeyes is a dream come true for me and my family,” McCollum said in a statement on Monday.

“The passion of Hawkeye fans is unmatched, and I am incredibly excited to get started on this new journey together. I am thankful to so many people who have been part of my journey, especially Michelle, Peyton, Tate, and Grace,” he added, naming his children.

McCollum grew up in Storm Lake, Iowa, and he played college basketball at North Iowa Community College from 1999 to 2001 followed by NWMSU from 2001 to 2003. He will replace former Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery, who was fired after 15 seasons despite seven NCAA tournament trips and a school-record 197 wins.

Iowa women’s basketball dwarfed McCaffery’s success in recent years when the Clark-led Hawkeyes teams appeared in two national title games, and Clark became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer. Now a superstar guard in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever, Clark was honored by Iowa with a jersey retirement during the season.

With Clark gone, this year’s Hawkeyes women’s basketball team only made the second round of the tournament but the program continued to draw big crowds with 14,998 per home game. Iowa’s men’s team meanwhile only drew 9,369 per home game.

Meanwhile, to replace McCollum, Drake athletic director Brian Hardin has to find a third coach in three years. Darian DeVries previously left the Bulldogs in 2024 to coach West Virginia before landing a new job with Indiana this year.

The Bulldogs have eight-straight winning seasons and four NCAA tournament appearances in the past five years. Hardin called it “sad for various reasons” that the program is looking for a coach again, and he expressed his disappointment over McCollum only staying a year.

“But I’m so encouraged and optimistic about what the future looks like for this program, based off of the support of so many in our community,” Hardin told reporters on Monday. “I know that we’re going to be able to find a terrific next coach. The interest just in the few hours here has been off the charts … so excited about that. Ready to jump back into search mode, I guess.”