Ben McCollum could be a big catch in UWGB men's basketball coaching search

GREEN BAY – Linc Darner led the Florida Southern men’s basketball team to the NCAA Division II national championship in 2015. Less than three weeks later, he was named head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The Phoenix is searching for its next leader after firing Will Ryan last month, the man who replaced Darner in 2020 after he was let go after five seasons.

One DII national championship landed Darner his first DI head coaching job.

So, what does four of them do?

That’s how many Ben McCollum has won at Northwest Missouri State since 2017, establishing the Bearcats as the premier program in DII and building a résumé littered with accolades during his first 13 seasons.

UWGB’s coaching search likely isn’t close to being complete, but if McCollum wants the job, it’s a good bet he’s going to be a top contender.

It is believed there is mutual interest between McCollum and UWGB.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering McCollum’s success and the respect Phoenix athletic director Josh Moon has for both the coach and the DII level after serving as AD at Northern State University in South Dakota before arriving in Green Bay.

Ben McCollum open to Division I, but seeking right fit

The Bearcats are enjoying yet another dominant season under McCollum, entering a game at Rogers State on Thursday with a 21-2 record.

Head coaches don’t often answer questions about other possible jobs, especially not during the season.

McCollum is no different.

He politely declined to address any interest he has in the UWGB opening when contacted on his cellphone earlier this week. He said he doesn’t discuss jobs while in season, and after apologizing for not being more help, he said it just makes it easier to keep it that way.

McCollum has said in the past he would like to coach at the DI level someday and has interviewed for openings, including last offseason at UW-Milwaukee and Illinois State.

But it’s clear he isn’t desperate, that it must be the right fit for him and his family.

Whether that fit is at UWGB remains to be seen. It’s also possible McCollum will draw serious interest from other schools, and it won’t be Green Bay or bust.

UWGB at least is prepared to pay its next coach more money, and potentially much more, than the $175,000 per season Ryan made after signing a six-year contract.

“I think for me, I coach specifically to make a difference on kids’ lives,” McCollum told Andy Katz in an interview for the National Association of Basketball Coaches before the season. “It’s not an ego thing to win or an ego thing to go Division I. It’s more, can I impact the kids that I coach, and can I impact the community that I’m in?

“We have a big enough platform that we can impact those things. I can impact the kids here. I can impact the area that I have. At this point, I haven’t been offered anything that has given me a bigger platform to help with communities, to help with the kids that I would coach. That is why I have stayed and been happy and continue to be happy.”

That doesn’t mean he will coach the Bearcats the rest of his career.

“I have a good job,” McCollum said. “Obviously, you want to move onto the next challenge eventually. But it has to be the right one. It’s not going to be because, ‘Oh, now Ben McCollum is Division I’ or whatever, and all of a sudden, I’m that much better of a coach.

“I really don’t need a big ego boost to go Division I. But I do want a different challenge at some point in my life.”

RELATED:Who will UWGB hire as its next men's basketball coach? These 10 names might be on the list.

RELATED:UWGB AD Josh Moon: Men's basketball program 'isn't where we want it to be'

Did somebody say challenge?

If that’s what McCollum is looking for, UWGB provides a big one as one of the worst teams in the nation this season.

McCollum builds Bearcats into dynasty

McCollum, an Iowa native who turns 42 in April, has proven he can build and sustain a winner.

He didn’t have any head coaching experience when he was hired at Northwest in 2009, the same school he played two seasons at after transferring from North Iowa Area Community College.

His first two years weren’t anything impressive. The Bearcats went 12-15 in his debut and followed by going 10-16.

That’s when McCollum and his program took off and became a dynasty.

The Bearcats have won 20 or more games each of the last 11 seasons, including 31 or more wins four times.

Along with the national championships in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 — there was no tournament in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic — McCollum has been named the DII coach of the year a record five times and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association coach of the year seven times.

“He really, really understands culture and what goes into winning from a people standpoint,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart told the Northwest school website. “Then he’s a great coach on both ends of the floor. And like the way that they play, you can tell he teaches guys and helps guys grow in how to play as opposed to little parts of the offense or parts of the defense. He teaches them to understand how to put it all together.”

Perhaps McCollum’s biggest test would be effectively dealing with the NCAA transfer portal, which became a thorn in Ryan’s side during his 2½ seasons.

It’s an issue he hasn’t been faced with much — the Bearcats don’t have one transfer on the roster this season — along with the deeper NIL pockets bigger schools have to lure emerging talent from mid-majors.

“We try to identify kids who are going to be four- and five-year kids in the recruiting process,” McCollum said. “Through social media, through making sure we talk to all their coaches, etc., etc. We have been fortunate enough to get kids that want to be part of something bigger than themselves.”

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Ben McCollum could be catch in UWGB men's basketball coaching search