One of college basketball’s most successful coaches is changing teams (and divisions)
Ben McCollum, who coached the Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team to four NCAA Division II national championships, was named the new head coach at Drake University on Monday.
In 15 seasons at Northwest, McCollum went 394-91. The Bearcats won NCAA titles in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 and were the nation’s top-ranked team in 2020, when the postseason was canceled because of COVID-19.
McCollum played at Northwest Missouri and replaced his coach there, Steve Tappmeyer, in 2009. McCollum’s teams finished with losing records in his first two seasons. The Bearcats made the NCAA Tournament the next year, and in his final 11 seasons.
He’s interviewed for other jobs, including Buffalo last season. But McCollum wasn’t eager to leave Maryville.
“I’m not a grass is always greener guy,” McCollum said in a 2020 interview with The Star. “I like the grass I have. When you’re always looking outside, and at the next thing, you forget what you have in front of you.”
But Drake is in McCullom’s home state — he’s a native of Storm Lake, Iowa — and he’ll coach in the tradition-rich Missouri Valley Conference.
McCollum replaces Darian DeVries, who left to take over at West Virginia. DeVries led the Bulldogs to three NCAA tournament appearances in the past four seasons and a share of the Missouri Valley regular-season title in 2019.
In this year’s tournament, 10th-seeded Drake fell to Washington State in the first round of the East Regional.
This story was originally published April 1, 2024 at 5:23 PM.