Iowa basketball coach Ben McCollum addresses speculation about his future amid a successful first season with the Hawkeyes, with potential interest from programs like North Carolina, while he focuses on the current season.
Ben McCollum’s inaugural season with Iowa men’s basketball surpassed all reasonable expectations, igniting a fervent hope among Hawkeyes fans. Unlike many celebrated college basketball figures of recent decades, they are praying that McCollum will remain a fixture. McCollum's coaching journey began at Northwest Missouri State, the Division II institution where he honed his skills in the early 2000s.
He ascended to the role of head coach for the Bearcats from 2009 to 2024, achieving an extraordinary feat of four national championships. This remarkable success propelled him into the Division I realm, and he immediately made his mark, guiding Drake to an impressive 31-4 record and an upset victory over No. 6 seed Missouri in the 2024-25 NCAA tournament. After a single season in the Missouri Valley Conference, McCollum continued his upward trajectory, accepting the Iowa head coaching position following Fran McCaffery’s departure after a 15-year tenure with the program. The question now looms: Will McCollum continue his rapid ascent with a fourth school in as many years? Ahead of Iowa’s Elite Eight clash against conference rival Illinois on Sunday, he attempted to assuage the concerns of the Hawkeye faithful regarding his potential departure after just one season. (His response can be found around the 12:15 mark of the video.) “Yes. Those are—whatever those are ... those are all lies,” McCollum stated, when asked about rumors linking him to other coaching vacancies and whether he would remain Iowa’s coach in the 2026-27 season. “The only person that would ever know would be—well, three people, would be my athletic director, my wife and ... that’s about it, I guess. Two people,” McCollum added with a laugh.\North Carolina, one of college basketball’s most prestigious programs, currently presents the most prominent coaching opening. North Carolina recently dismissed Tar Heels alumnus Hubert Davis after a tenure marked by both highs and lows, including a national championship appearance and victories over Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski in his final regular-season game and his final career game in the Final Four. However, UNC's performance under Davis was inconsistent, failing to consistently replicate those early achievements. The 2025-26 team faced a significant setback with injuries to star freshman Caleb Wilson, who was sidelined for the remainder of the regular season and the NCAA tournament. Despite leading a game by 19 points, the team's struggles led to Davis's dismissal. North Carolina, a program largely defined by Dean Smith and his coaching legacy since the early 1960s, is likely to pursue a high-profile coach for its next hire. This doesn't necessarily mean poaching a coach from a rival program or even an NBA team. Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd might be considered.\McCollum might be slightly further down any Tar Heels wishlist, but he too tried to dismiss speculations about other job opportunities while his Hawkeyes were still competing, ahead of Sunday’s game. “As far as the rumors, I've already taken eight jobs already, so I'm sure, you know, it is what it is,” he said about a year ago, according to ESPN. “But it floats around every year and that’s what it is. It comes with success. That's what happens with success. It’s just one of those things that's tough, but it is what it is.” If he steps down from his coaching position, assistant Jacque Vaughn, a former NBA head coach, could potentially become the new head coach. The Jayhawks would also be well-positioned to seek top coaching talent, should Self decide to step away and the program choose to look outside of his staff for a replacement. McCollum could quickly rise on the list of potential candidates, given his proven success at the D-II level and his promising start in Division I coaching
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