Ben McCollum

Iowa native Ben McCollum is entering his second season as the head men's basketball coach for the University of Iowa. McCollum is the 23rd head coach in program history.

During his 17-year coaching career, McCollum has guided teams to four NCAA Division II national championships (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) at Northwest Missouri State University and to two NCAA Tournament appearance in his first two seasons at the Division I level.  He has guided teams to four wins as the lower seed in two NCAA Tournaments.

McCollum has amassed a 449-108 record in 17 seasons for an 80.6 career winning percentage -- the fifth-best mark all-time among collegiate men's basketball coaches.  In two seasons at the Division I level, McCollum has posted a 55-17 mark (.764).

During his first season in Iowa City, McCollum led the Hawkeyes to the program's first Elite Eight appearance in 39 years and first Sweet 16 since 1999. No. 9 seed Iowa downed three higher seeded teams -- No. 8 Clemson, No. 1 Florida and No. 4 Nebraska.  The Hawkeyes led their South Region title game with seven minutes remaining with a Final Four spot on the line.

Iowa's 73-72 win over top-seeded Florida gave the Hawkeyes their second win all-time against the defending national champion. Iowa became the ninth No. 9 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed and the sixth nine seed all-time to advance to the Elite Eight.

On the year, McCollum led the team to a 24-13 record in his first season and he joined Dr. Tom Davis as the only two first-year Hawkeye head coaches to win 20+ games, win an NCAA Tournament game and advance to the Elite Eight.   The team was ranked 15th in the final Associated Press poll.

The Hawkeyes won three NCAA Tournament games in 2026 under McCollum; the program had four NCAA Tournament wins in the previous 24 seasons.

Senior guard Bennett Stirtz, who followed McCollum from Northwest Missouri State to Drake to Iowa City, was as good as advertised. Stirtz earned honorable mention All-America honors by The Associated Press and USBWA and first-team All-Big Ten honors by the media after averging 19.8 points, 4.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds.  He played 40 or more minutes 17 times during the season and finished with a program record 1,396 minutes.

Under McCollum's tutelage, Stirtz went from a second-team All-MIAA selection at the Division II level to an All-American in the Big Ten.  He was the only player in the nation to have 730+ points, 160+ assists, 95+ rebounds, 90+ 3-poiners and 50+ steals and he became one of three Power Conference players all-time to put up those numbers.

Stirtz became the first Hawkeye with 700+ points, 100+ assists and 50+ steals and the third Hawkeye to score 700+ points.  His 734 points were the fourth-most in a single season in Iowa history.

During his first and only season at Drake, McCollum guided the Bulldogs to a 31-4 record en route to being named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year and the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year, which is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I college basketball.  He was also one of 10 coaches nationally named as a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year after leading Drake to the most wins by a first-year coach in MVC history.

After sweeping the league’s regular season and tournament titles, the Bulldogs earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Drake followed with a 67-57 triumph over sixth-seeded Missouri to record the program’s first non-First Four win since 1971.

The Bulldogs boasted the Larry Bird Player of the Year (Bennett Stirtz) and Sixth Man of the Year (Tavion Banks), while having two all-league, one all-newcomer and one all-defensive team selection. Four of McCollum’s players from Northwest Missouri State joined him at Drake.

During his 15-years in Maryville, Missouri, McCollum posted a 395-91 record (81.3 winning percentage) and he earned five NABC Division II National Coach of the Year awards, the most for a single coach in Division II history. McCollum also garnered three Clarence Gaines Awards, nine Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Coach of the Year honors and was a 2024 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee.

McCollum's individual accolades were a direct result of the high-level players he recruited and instructed. His Bearcat squads captured a dozen MIAA regular season titles, eight MIAA tournament crowns, and over his final eight seasons the program averaged more than 31 wins per year and compiled a record of 253-21 (92.3 winning percentage).

During McCollum's Bearcat tenure, the program’s single season win totals were staggering. He led the team to at least 21 wins in each of his final 13 seasons. Five of those years included 30+ wins highlighted by an undefeated 38-0 campaign in 2018-19. That season marked just the fifth time in Division II history that a team ran the table through the regular and postseasons.
 
Individual players flourished under McCollum. He coached dozens of players to All-MIAA status and a handful of others to more specialized recognition. Those individual honors were highlighted by two National Players of the Year, six NABC All-Americans, six MIAA Players of the Year, three MIAA Defensive Players of the Year and five MIAA All-Freshman selections.

McCollum's storied coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Northwest, his alma mater, from 2003-05. He experienced his first full-time position at Emporia State for four seasons (2005-09) before returning to Maryville and taking over as the Bearcats' head coach.
 
As a player, McCollum helped lead Northwest Missouri State to a 51-12 record and the program's first-ever Elite Eight appearance in 2001-02 following a 29-3 season. That was also the first time the Bearcats ever swept both regular season and tournament titles, an accomplishment he replicated years later as head coach.

McCollum's playing career began at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, Iowa, where he was a two-time all-region selection.
 
Born in Iowa City, McCollum was raised in Storm Lake, Iowa, and graduated from St. Mary's High School in 1999. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business finance from Northwest Missouri State in 2003 and his master’s in athletic administration from the school in 2004. McCollum’s mother, Mary Timko, earned her undergraduate, master’s and law degrees from the University of Iowa.

He and his wife, Michelle, have three children – sons Peyton and Tate and daughter, Grace Ann.