Benjamin Matthew McCollum (born April 12, 1981) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach who is currently the head men's basketball coach at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Biography

McCollum was born in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

, and grew up in

Storm Lake, Iowa Storm Lake is a city in and the county seat of Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,269 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 10,076 in the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. Located along ...

, where he graduated from St. Mary's High School in 1999. He played basketball for two years at

North Iowa Area Community College North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) is a public community college in Mason City, Iowa. History NIACC began as Mason City Junior College in 1918, becoming the first public two-year college in Iowa. The college was located in the high schoo ...

before transferring in 2001 to Northwest Missouri State, where he played for Steve Tappmeyer as the school made its first Elite Eight appearance. He graduated from Northwest in 2003 with a degree in business finance and received a master's degree in athletic administration from the school in 2004. He was an assistant coach at

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...

from 2004 to 2008, then was named the head coach Northwest Missouri State in 2009. McCollum's team struggled the first two seasons with records of 12–15 in 2009–10 and 10–16 in 2010–11. In the 2011–12 season, his team went 22–7, won the regular-season MIAA crown and played in the first round of the Division II NCAA tournament. In 2012, he was honored for the turnaround with the Clarence Gaines Award as the best NCAA Division II coach. His teams then went onto greater success, reaching the Division II Sweet 16 three years in a row from 2014 to 2016. In 2017, he won the first of four DII national championships at Northwest Missouri State. His teams went on to with the national championship in 2019, 2021, and 2022. He also won the Clarence Gaines Award again in 2020 and 2022. McCollum finished his Northwest Missouri State career with four national titles. McCollum was hired as head coach of the

Drake Bulldogs The Drake Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The Bulldogs' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the NCA ...

in 2024. After taking the Bulldogs to the second round of the NCAA tournament in his first year with the school, he was named the head coach at Iowa on March 24, 2025.

Personal life

McCollum is married and has three children.

Head coaching record

References

External links

McCollum's Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCollum, Ben 1982 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Iowa Basketball players from Iowa City, Iowa College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Drake Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Emporia State Hornets basketball coaches Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball coaches Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball players People from Storm Lake, Iowa