Iowa basketball, Ben McCollum reportedly agree to long-term contract

The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball program has its guy, and they have him locked up long-term. Head coach Ben McCollum reignited the men's basketball program this year with a magical March Madness run to the Elite 8, a historic year for Iowa, and he is going to be in Iowa City, where he is a native, for much longer.

After rumors that he was in play for some of the big head coaching jobs open in this year's cycle, specifically North Carolina, which headlined the rumors, McCollum is staying put at Iowa with a new contract extension.

The news, which has broken from ESPN's Pete Thamel, is that Ben McCollum and the Iowa Hawkeyes are nearing an agreement to finalize a six-year contract extension. This move solidifies Iowa's head coaching position and stabilizes a program that appears on the cusp of elevating to the next level in the Big Ten and college basketball.

Ben McCollum, a proven winner, showed his ability to coach in just one year at Iowa. He had a roster constructed of Missouri Valley players, transfer portal mercenaries, and a few who chose, wisely I must say, amid the change from the Fran McCaffery era.

He led Iowa to a 24-13 overall record last year, while going a respectable 10-10 in the Big Ten. His overall head coaching record is a staggering 450-108, which shows his success at each stop.

McCollum coached at Northwest Missouri State from 2009 to 2024, where he made the NCAA Division II Tournament 11 times. Those 11 trips consisted of four national championships and four Sweet 16 appearances.

Before joining Iowa, he had a one-year pitstop at Drake University, where he led the Bulldogs to an outstanding 31-4 overall record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they won their first round game.

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