McCollum Introduced as Men’s Basketball Head Coach With Hawkeyes

(Iowa City, IA) — On late Tuesday afternoon, Ben McCollum was introduced as the new men’s basketball head coach at the University of Iowa.  McCollum says that Iowa did not really hard sell him on coming to Iowa City until after Drake was eliminated in the NCAA Tournament.  On the Sunday after the Bulldogs lost to Texas Tech, there were conversations and McCollum signed a deal to coach Iowa Monday morning at 6:45 am.  McCollum says coaching the Hawkeyes is a dream come true

McCollum is well aware of the history of the Iowa program because he rooted for them

McCollum was asked what he thought his team would look like and he says they will be exactly how the late Chris Street played

Attendance has lagged in recent years for the men’s basketball program while the women’s team gets sellouts.  McCollum says the way to bring more fans to the games is to compete for championships

McCollum says he wants to bring the best players to Iowa and this year to rebuild quickly, it might have to be done in the transfer portal which is what he did this past season at Drake so he knows what he is looking for

At Drake, McCollum had a reputation for his white shirts and ties.  He says that got started because he didn’t have a real sense of fashion

Here is the complete press conference introducing Ben McCollum as the Head Coach of Men’s Basketball at the University of Iowa