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As Iowa basketball continues to reform the program over the offseason with new players, philosophies, and expectations, the opening game of the Ben McCollum era has officially been set in stone as the Hawkeyes look to take the next step in the increasingly competitive Big Ten conference.
According to Iowa athletics, McCollum's first game at the helm of the Hawkeyes will be on Nov. 4 as the program opens its 2025-26 season vs. Robert Morris from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
McCollum joins the Iowa program after one season at Drake where he guided the Bulldogs to a 31-4 (17-3 Missouri Valley) record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament's round of 32. Under McCollum's direction, the 11th-seeded Drake defeated No. 6 seed Missouri by a score of 67-57 to open up its run in March Madness before falling to No. 3 seed Texas Tech, 77-64, in Wichita, Kan.
For his work at Drake, McCollum won Missouri Valley Coach of the Year honors, the 2025 Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year Award, and was a semifinalist for the 2025 Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
Prior to his lone season at Drake, McCollum spent 15 seasons leading Division II Northwest Missouri State, where he compiled a 394-91 record and captured four national championships. In addition to the Bearcats' impressive title run, the program won 11 straight Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) regular-season titles to end McCollum's tenure and 12 overall.
McCollum replaces 15-year veteran head coach Fran McCaffery, whom Iowa fired on March 14 following a 17-16 (7-13 Big Ten) finish this past season. McCollum will be tasked with reinvigorating the Iowa program, which has not made the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons and has not advanced beyond the second round since the 1998-99 campaign.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball announces Ben McCollum's head coaching debut date
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According to Iowa athletics, McCollum's first game at the helm of the Hawkeyes will be on Nov. 4 as the program opens its 2025-26 season vs. Robert Morris from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
McCollum joins the Iowa program after one season at Drake where he guided the Bulldogs to a 31-4 (17-3 Missouri Valley) record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament's round of 32. Under McCollum's direction, the 11th-seeded Drake defeated No. 6 seed Missouri by a score of 67-57 to open up its run in March Madness before falling to No. 3 seed Texas Tech, 77-64, in Wichita, Kan.
For his work at Drake, McCollum won Missouri Valley Coach of the Year honors, the 2025 Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year Award, and was a semifinalist for the 2025 Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
Prior to his lone season at Drake, McCollum spent 15 seasons leading Division II Northwest Missouri State, where he compiled a 394-91 record and captured four national championships. In addition to the Bearcats' impressive title run, the program won 11 straight Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) regular-season titles to end McCollum's tenure and 12 overall.
McCollum replaces 15-year veteran head coach Fran McCaffery, whom Iowa fired on March 14 following a 17-16 (7-13 Big Ten) finish this past season. McCollum will be tasked with reinvigorating the Iowa program, which has not made the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons and has not advanced beyond the second round since the 1998-99 campaign.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball announces Ben McCollum's head coaching debut date
Continue reading...
