Drake hires four-time DII champ Ben McCollum as head coach

Field Level Media|published: Mon 1st April, 16:27 2024

Mar 10, 2024; St. Louis, MO, USA; Drake Bulldogs celebrate after defeating the Indiana State Sycamores to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship at Enterprise Center. credits: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Drake hired four-time Division II national champion Ben McCollum as head coach on Monday.

McCollum agreed to a five-year deal and is scheduled to be introduced as the replacement for Darian DeVries, who left the Des Moines, Iowa, school to take over at West Virginia last week.

Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. DeVries had a 150-55 record in six seasons, taking Drake to the NCAA Tournament three times.

McCollum won four Division II national titles in the past eight seasons at Northwest Missouri State, where he compiled a record of 394-91 in 15 total seasons.

McCollum, 42, was born in Iowa City and grew up in Storm Lake, Iowa, about 160 miles from Drake's campus.

He's a five-time NABC Division II coach of the year (2017, 2019-2022).

—Field Level Media