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Mike Woodson will step down as IU basketball coach after the 2024-25 season. Athletic director Scott Dolson is currently searching for the program’s 31st head coach.
Inside the Hall will examine many of the candidates being discussed for the job over the coming days and weeks. Our seventh profile takes a look at Drake coach Ben McCollum.
Previously: Dusty May, Scott Drew, Mick Cronin, Greg McDermott, Buzz Williams, T.J. Otzelberger
Winning basketball games is what Ben McCollum has done for the past 16 seasons. McCollum is a proven winner at the Division II level and after a strong first-year showing at the mid-major level, his name has been linked as a possible candidate for the Indiana job.
The first-year Drake coach will be a hot candidate this spring based on his success at every stop in his coaching career.
An Iowa native, McCollum played college basketball at North Iowa Area Community College and Northwest Missouri State from 1999 to 2003. After graduating from Northwest Missouri State, McCollum began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Steve Tappmeyer, his former head coach.
He spent the following two seasons as a GA at his alma mater before being hired full-time as an assistant coach at Emporia State, a Division II program in Kansas. From 2005 to 2009, McCollum settled in as an assistant before earning his first head coaching opportunity at Northwest Missouri State.
During his tenure, McCollum transformed the Northwest program into a Division II powerhouse, making it one of the most successful college programs in the country. Northwest Missouri State thrived during his 15 seasons, which included 12 NCAA tournament appearances, four Sweet Sixteens and four national championships.
McCollum’s teams not only captured postseason success but also won consistently in the regular season. He led the Bearcats to 13 seasons with 20-plus wins, four of which saw 30-plus wins in a season. In 2018-2019, Northwest finished 38-0 with an undefeated 19-0 conference record and capped it off with a national title.
Over the years, McCollum has amassed an impressive winning percentage as a head coach. He won over 80 percent of his games at Northwest with a career winning percentage of 81.7. The 43-year-old has already amassed more than 400 wins as a head coach.
McCollum finished his career at Northwest Missouri State as a five time NABC Division II National Coach of the Year and was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
On April 1, 2024, Drake University announced they would be hiring McCollum to be the 30th head coach in program history. He signed a five-year deal with the Bulldogs, taking over the program after Darian DeVries’ departure.
“I am honored to be a part of the Drake basketball family,” McCollum said in April. “We have seen the transition Drake basketball has made over the past few seasons to become one of the most successful mid-majors in that span. My family and I are very excited to continue that tradition with the support of the great Des Moines community. I would also like to thank President Martin and Athletics Director Brian Hardin for allowing me the opportunity to continue the success at Drake.”
This year, Drake has already seen high levels of success in McCollum’s first season. Drake sits at 26-3, 16-3 in conference, with an MVC regular season title already clinched. McCollum has put the Bulldogs in a position to make the NCAA tournament for a third consecutive season.
There’s no denying McCollum has an impressive history of building a winning culture. He is coming off one of the most successful and impressive tenures at the Division II level and has already found instant success in his new home at Drake.
His name has been floating around as a potential fit for the Indiana job, which would give him his first power conference job in college basketball. Despite not having previous experience at the highest level of Division I, there’s no looking past his success as a program builder who consistently wins.
Whether Indiana will dip into the mid-major levels for its next coach remains to be seen. But McCollum is a wild card candidate who could be a star at the high-major level if given the opportunity.
(Photo credit: Drake Athletics)
Category: Coaching search
Filed to: Ben McCollum
