(Des Moines, IA) – With a successful run at Northwest Missouri State, Ben McCollum is moving on to Division I basketball after being hired to be the new Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Drake University. This was announced on Monday, April 1st by Athletics Director Brian Hardin.
This hire by Drake has already been praised by Marquette Men’s Basketball Head Coach Shaka Smart saying, “Ben McCollum is a special basketball coach who understands the connection between culture and winning. He possesses a rare combination of tremendous relational skills, an extreme work ethic, an innate ability to evaluate and develop talent, and a terrific basketball mind. Drake has hit an absolute home run with this hire.”
The Storm Lake, Iowa native will move to Des Moines after spending over 15 seasons as the Head Coach at Northwest Missouri State. During his time as the head coach of the Bearcats, he led his teams to four National Championships in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022. McCollum earned a record of 394-91 at Northwest Missouri State and earned five NABC Division II National Coach of the Year awards which are the single most in Division II history. He led his teams to at least 21 wins or more in each of the last 13 seasons, five of which included 30+ wins.
“I am honored to be a part of the Drake basketball family,” McCollum said. “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.”
McCollum was a former player at Northwest Missouri State, pushing the Bearcats to a 51-12 record, and was part of the program’s first-ever Elite Eight appearance in the 2001-02 season. He graduated high school from St. Mary’s in 1999.
Drake will host an introductory press conference to officially welcome McCollum to Des Moines on Tuesday, April 9th at 10:00 a.m. at the Schickler Club in the Knapp Center.
