Iowa Hawkeyes' Coaching Search Takes Odd Turn

The Iowa Hawkeyes' search for a new basketball coach has taken a strange twist.

Mar 20, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Drake Bulldogs head coach Ben McCollum in the first half of a first round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the Missouri Tigers at Intrust Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

Earlier on Sunday, it was reported that the Iowa Hawkeyes were finalizing an agreement to make Ben McCollum their next head coach.

However, a new report suggests otherwise.

While Iowa is still pursuing McCollum, who is currently serving as head coach of the Drake Bulldogs, Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register has revealed that the school is not that close to hiring him.

"A source close to the situation tells me that Ben McCollum and the Iowa job have not reached finalizing steps yet," Birch posted on X. "Could it come together fast? Yes. But certainly not a done deal yet. "

Obviously, this doesn't necessarily mean that the Hawkeyes won't land McCollum, but that we were probably jumping the gun thinking that the deal was already done.

Birch added that McCollum was "still zeroed in on Drake" in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs just lost in the Round of 32 on Saturday night, so it makes sense that he hasn't accepted a new job just yet.

McCollum's head-coaching experience on the Division I level is very limited. As a matter of fact, the 2024-25 campaign at Drake represents his lone season coaching a DI school. He was a smashing success in his debut, leading the Bulldogs to a record of 31-4 and a Missouri Valley Conference championship.

Drake nabbed an 11-seed in the Big Dance and upset Missouri in the first round before falling to third-seeded Texas Tech.

Prior to coaching Drake, McCollum spent 15 years serving as head coach of Northwest Missouri State, a Division II school, where he built an incredible pedigree. He won four national championships there over a five-tournament stretch (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022). The DII national tournament was cancelled by the CoVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Meanwhile, Iowa just went 17-16 and 7-13 in Big Ten conference play, resulting in the firing of Fran McCaffery after a decade-and-a-half at the helm.

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