Ben McCollum
Benjamin M. McCollum (born April 12, 1981) is the men's basketball head coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Drake |
| Conference | MVC |
| Record | 0–0 (–) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 12, 1981 Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1999–2001 | North Iowa Area CC |
| 2001–2003 | Northwest Missouri State |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2003–2005 | Northwest Missouri State (GA) |
| 2005–2009 | Emporia State (assistant) |
| 2009–2024 | Northwest Missouri State |
| 2024–present | Drake |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 394–91 (.812) |
| Tournaments | 32–7 (NCAA Division II) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 4× NCAA Division II national (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) 12× MIAA regular season (2012, 2014–2024) 8× MIAA tournament (2016–2020, 2022–2024) | |
| Awards | |
| 5× NABC Division II Coach of the Year (2017, 2019–2022) 5× NABC Division II Central District Coach of the Year (2017, 2019–2022) Basketball Times Division II Coach of the Year (2019) John McLendon Collegiate Basketball Coach of the Year (2019) Burns & McDonnell Coach of the Year (2019) 3× HoopDirt.com Division II Coach of the Year (2017, 2019, 2021) 3× Clarence Gaines National Coach of the Year (2012, 2020, 2022) 8× MIAA Coach of the Year (2012, 2015–2017, 2019–2021, 2023) | |
McCollum was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and grew up in Storm Lake, Iowa, where he graduated from St. Mary's High School in 1999. He played basketball for two years at North Iowa Area Community College before transferring in 2001 to Northwest, where he played for Steve Tappmeyer as the school made its first Elite Eight appearance. He graduated from Northwest in 2003 with a degree in business finance and received a master's degree in athletic administration from the school in 2004. He was an assistant coach at Emporia State University from 2004 to 2008, then joined Northwest as its head coach in 2009.
McCollum's team struggled the first two seasons with records of 12–15 in 2009–10 and 10–16 in 2010–11. In the 2011–12 season, his team went 22–7, won the regular-season MIAA crown and played in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In 2012, he was honored for the turnaround with the Clarence Gaines Award as the best NCAA Division II coach.