Report: Iowa, Drake's Ben McCollum Agree to HC Contract After Fran McCaffery Firing

After leading Drake to a berth in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament, head coach Ben McCollum is taking on a new challenge.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello, McCollum has agreed to a deal with Iowa to become the program's next head coach. McCollum will be replacing Fran McCaffery, who was fired earlier this month after the Hawkeyes missed the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.

In his first season with the Bulldogs, McCollum led the team to a 31-4 record and a Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship. Drake earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA tournament and upset No. 6 Missouri 67-57 in the first round for the program's first tournament victory since 1971. The team fell to No. 3 Texas Tech 77-64 in the Round of 32.

Prior to joining Drake, McCollum made a name for himself at the Division II level as head coach of Northwest Missouri State. He led the team to four Division II national championships, including a perfect 38-0 campaign in 2018-19.

McCollum, who is an Iowa City native, will now try to bring his winning ways to Iowa, as the team has not achieved a 20-win season since 2021-22.

The Hawkeyes went 17-16 overall and 7-13 in the Big Ten in their final year under McCaffery, who coached them for 15 seasons and is the program's all-time wins leader with 297 victories. The team made seven NCAA tournament appearances under McCaffery's guidance, never making it further than the second round.

After his firing, McCaffrey said he plans to continue coaching and expects to have a new home by next season.

The Hawkeyes will be looking forward to a fresh start under McCollum as they try to return to prominence next year and beyond.