Sources: Drake finalizing deal to hire McCollum

Drake is finalizing a deal to make Northwest Missouri State’s Ben McCollum its next head coach, sources told ESPN.

The deal is for five years, sources told ESPN.

McCollum has been one of the most successful college basketball coaches in the country during his time at Northwest Missouri State, leading the Bearcats to four Division-II national championships and a 394-91 record during his 15 seasons at the helm.

Under McCollum, Northwest Missouri State has won 11 straight MIAA regular-season titles and 12 total. Prior to him taking over, the Bearcats had won just four MIAA titles over the previous 62 seasons.

He replaced Steve Tappmeyer — who coached McCollum for two seasons at Northwest Missouri State from 2001-2003 — in 2009 after four seasons as an assistant coach at Emporia State. After going a combined 22-31 in his first two seasons, McCollum has led Northwest Missouri State to 13 straight 20-win seasons and earned NABC Division II National Coach of the Year honors five times.

The Bearcats went 38-0 in 2018-19 and suffered just one loss in both the 2016-17 and 2019-20 seasons.

This past season, Northwest Missouri State finished 29-5 overall and 20-2 in conference play, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II tournament.

At Drake, McCollum will replace Darian DeVries, who left last month to take over at West Virginia. DeVries led the Bulldogs to three NCAA tournament appearances in the last four seasons and a share of the Missouri Valley regular-season title in 2019.