Ben McCollum

Ben McCollum (born April 12, 1981)

Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Northwest Missouri State Bearcats
Current conference: Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)
Northwest Missouri State record^: 365-86 (.809)
Overall record^: 365-86 (.809)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • MIAA (Div II) Regular Season Champion: (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
  • MIAA (Div II) Tournament Champion: (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
  • NCAA Division II National Championships:  4  (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022)
  • NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances:  10  (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2009-present Northwest Missouri State
2005-2009 Emporia State (asst)
2003-2005 Northwest Missouri State (grad. asst)

Ben McCollum Facts

  • Benjamin M. McCollum
  • Born April 12, 1981
  • Hometown: Storm Lake, Iowa
  • Alma Mater: Northwest Missouri State University (BS, 2003 & MA, 2004)
  • The Iowa-native started his career at North Iowa Area CC before transferring to D-II Northwest Missouri State in 2001
  • Played two years for head coach Steve Tappmeyer, then served as a graduate assistant for two more seasons
  • Spent four seasons as an assistant under David Moe at D-II Emporia State in Kansas
  • Returned to Northwest Missouri in 2009 to take over as the Bearcats’ head coach
    • After two sub-.500 seasons to start, McCollum has built the program into a national D-II powerhouse
    • McCollum has won nine MIAA titles, five MIAA Tournaments and has been been to ten D-II NCAA Tournaments
      • In 2017, the Bearcats went 35-1 (18-1) and won the program’s first-ever NCAA Championship
      • McCollum and NW Missouri won another NCAA title in 2019, finishing a perfect 38-0 (19-0 MIAA)
      • 2020 team entered the postseason at 31-1 and ranked #1, but the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19
      • Over the following two seasons, the Bearcats won their third and fourth D-II National Championships in a six-year span
    • Five-time winner of the NABC (Div II) COY award and six-time winner of the MIAA (Div II) COY
  • Along with his wife, Michelle, has two sons and one daughter

Ben McCollum Coaching Tree

  • Jordan Ashton (Iowa Wesleyan)
  • Austin Meyer (Northwest Missouri State women’s)

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division II level only