Sources: Iowa’s Ben McCollum gets new deal after tourney run

Iowa coach Ben McCollum is finalizing a new six-year contract after leading the Hawkeyes on their deepest NCAA tournament run in almost 40 years, sources told ESPN on Friday.

In his first season at the helm, McCollum guided Iowa to a 24-13 record and to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament — including a 73-72 upset win over top-seeded Florida in the second round. The 9-seed Hawkeyes then knocked off Nebraska before falling to Illinois in the regional final.

Iowa’s Elite Eight appearance was the program’s first since 1987.

North Carolina pursued McCollum as part of the Tar Heels’ coaching search, but McCollum opted to remain at Iowa and North Carolina ultimately hired former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone.

McCollum, an Iowa City native, has established himself as one of the best coaches in college basketball, having immediate postseason success at three programs. He won four Division II national championships at Northwest Missouri State before taking over at Drake in 2024. In his one season with the Bulldogs, he won a Missouri Valley regular-season title and upset 6-seed Missouri in the NCAA tournament en route to a 31-4 record.

Iowa is losing star guard Bennett Stirtz from this past season; Stirtz played for McCollum at Northwest Missouri State and Drake before following him to the Big Ten. But the Hawkeyes return five of their top eight scorers and are adding impact transfers Ty’Reek Coleman (Illinois State) and Andrew McKeever (Saint Mary’s).