HOUSTON — Iowa head coach Ben McCollum announced on Friday his intention to remain with the Hawkeyes for the 2026-27 season, despite the prospect of several prominent coaching vacancies emerging this offseason.
Having garnered commendation throughout the season and now having steered the Hawkeyes to the Elite Eight for the first time in 39 years, McCollum has been linked to speculation concerning various vacancies, including the one at North Carolina. Nonetheless, McCollum, who is leading his third institution in as many years, emphatically dismissed these notions.
During his squad’s pre-match press briefing, held prior to Iowa’s contest facing Illinois on Saturday, McCollum affirmed his intention to serve as the chief strategist for Iowa the upcoming season when directly queried about it.
“Indeed, those are all fabrications,” McCollum stated regarding the hearsay. He continued, “The sole individual truly privy to such information would be – well, three people – my athletic director, my spouse, and that encompasses the list. I suppose just two individuals, actually.”
McCollum has guided Iowa to the verge of its inaugural Final Four showing dating back to 1980. Aided by key player Bennett Stirtz, who was also a prominent performer under McCollum’s guidance at Division II Northwest Missouri State and Drake, the Hawkeyes have emerged as the underdog sensation of the NCAA tournament, an achievement that has only intensified conjecture surrounding McCollum, now widely considered among the sport’s premier strategists.
This represents an accustomed situation for McCollum.
The previous year, he steered 11th-seeded Drake to victory against 6th-seeded Missouri in the initial stage of the NCAA tournament, before subsequently falling to Texas Tech in the second round. Throughout that impressive stretch, McCollum was questioned regarding the prospect of taking on a top-tier coaching role.
“Concerning the conjectures, I’ve supposedly accepted eight different positions already, so I’m certain, you understand, such is the reality,” he remarked around this time the previous year during his tenure at Drake. “However, it circulates annually, and that’s simply how it goes. It accompanies achievement. That’s a consequence of triumph. It’s merely one of those challenging aspects, but that’s the nature of things.”
Subsequently, he departed for Iowa.
This marks a noteworthy period within the athletic domain.
The position at North Carolina, among the most coveted coaching roles in athletics, is currently vacant after Hubert Davis was relieved of his duties earlier this week. Meanwhile, Kansas’ Bill Self has dispelled whispers of retirement, even while acknowledging his desire to discuss his prospects with his family. Furthermore, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson declared, “I won’t impede anyone’s progress,” when questioned about his persistence in coaching within this dynamic environment, subsequent to his squad’s defeat by Illinois in Houston on Thursday.
However, McCollum, who has been likened to Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti – a figure who also ascended from outside the Power 4 conferences prior to securing a national championship this year – stated that he in fact holds Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz in high esteem, Ferentz having served as the steward of that initiative for 27 years.
“I mean, why would I admire the coach at Indiana? You know, we’re rooting for the Iowa squad here,” he expressed. “That’s precisely why. No, Kirk is, without a doubt, as exceedingly dignified as one can be. He’s excelled in managing his whole program, attracting exceptional young talent and commendable individuals, and has fostered an outstanding team ethos. So, indeed, anytime you can liken yourself to that, it’s a significant achievement. But I’m certainly not going to compare myself to someone from Indiana. With all due respect, he obviously achieved numerous positive outcomes, and it’s certainly modest to be mentioned, but I’m in Kirk’s camp.”