UNC coaching search may have put Iowa on alert over Ben McCollum
· Yahoo Sports
With North Carolina’s firing of Hubert Davis last week, one of college basketball’s premier jobs is up for grabs.
As a result, every big-name coach from Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd to Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan has been asked about the opening. The search is already driving up the market, too, as one potential candidate, Vanderbilt’s Mark Byington, has received a contract extension.
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Another name that has surfaced is Iowa head coach Ben McCollum. He is not officially a candidate, but leading the Hawkeyes to the Elite Eight — their deepest NCAA Tournament run since 1987 and their first trip past the round of 32 since 1999 — is enough to put him in the conversation.
McCollum’s rapid rise has generated so much noise that Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz felt compelled to publicly plant a flag about his future in Iowa City.
"I couldn’t be more thrilled with what our program has accomplished and the leadership of Coach McCollum,” Goetz told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. “We are excited about Ben’s future here at Iowa and will work in partnership with him toward continued success."
Iowa AD Beth Goetz tells me the following after the Hawkeyes' run to the Elite Eight under Ben McCollum:
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 30, 2026
"I couldn’t be more thrilled with what our program has accomplished and the leadership of Coach McCollum.
We are excited about Ben’s future here at Iowa and will work in…
McCollum signed a six-year contract worth more than $19 million, including incentives. In his first season, he was paid $3.35 million and earned a $150,000 bonus for reaching the Elite Eight.
His buyout total after April 1st is $4 million.
What to Know About McCollum
Before arriving in Iowa City, McCollum spent one season as head coach at Drake, where he went 32-4 in 2024-25. The Bulldogs swept the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles and earned their first NCAA Tournament win since 1971, upsetting No. 6 seed and nationally ranked Missouri.
Prior to moving to Division I, McCollum built a Division II powerhouse at Northwest Missouri State. From 2009 to 2024, he went 395-91 with four national championships and 20 conference titles (12 regular-season, eight tournament). His 2018-19 team finished 38-0, and he compiled a 32-7 postseason record with the Bearcats.
Across Northwest Missouri State, Drake and Iowa, McCollum is 36-9 in NCAA Tournament play — an .818 winning percentage — and has won at least one tournament game in 13 of 14 seasons.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Coaching search turns spotlight on Iowa’s Ben McCollum