Iowa City, IA- What more could Ben McCollum ask for at this point. Breaks Drake’s single season win total, leads the Bulldogs to a first-round upset over Missouri all in his first year at the Division I level, gets hired by his hometown team of Iowa, and now takes home the 2025 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year award.
The award goes to a rookie head coach in Division I college basketball. McCollum racked up 31 wins, including the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season and tournament titles and grabbed himself MVC Coach of the Year.
The Hawkeyes are hoping that the success will continue for them in the Big Ten.
The Joe B. Hall award is named in honor of longtime Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.
Hall coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985. He won two-thirds of his games (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year honors, and won a National Championship in 1978. He also steered the program to two other Final Fours, won eight Southeastern Conference regular season championships and one Southeastern Conference tournament championship (1984).