With the November sun already set and the blues and navies of twilight consuming Iowa City, the doors of Carver-Hawkeye Arena swung open for the first time in the 2025-26 season. A few dozen fans, including a group of senior citizens with “80s for Isaia” printed on the backs of their red sweaters, strolled through the gates.
Much of what lay inside was familiar. The smells of pizza, pretzels, and popcorn wafted through the air. A spread of gameday programs sat fanned out on a folding table. Concession workers and security stood in position.
But looking from the ledge of the concourse down at the court below, so much was different, too. A remodelled student section with expanded floor seating. Hundreds of yellow ties packaged in crinkly plastic bags glistening under the lights. 12 new players on a roster of 14 warming up on the court.
All this at the discretion of the Hawkeyes’ new coach, Ben McCollum.
For McCollum, this offseason has been focused on the fans. Righting the wrongs of the past.
“Our goal is to get Carver-Hawkeye Arena filled back up,” he said during his introductory press conference.
The bleachers were emptier than normal last year, as fans grew tired of Fran McCaffery and the mediocrity consuming the Iowa Men’s Basketball Team.
Attendance dwindled. Losses stacked. Opinions soured.
McCaffery’s final minutes on the court concluded with a pair of technical fouls in quick succession, an ejection, and a solemn walk into the tunnel. His team played out the final 13 minutes of their season without him, ultimately losing 106-94 to Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. McCaffery was fired less than 24 hours later.
And then came McCollum.
Born and raised a Hawkeye fan, he developed a reputation as a fiery head coach and a serial winner over 15 seasons and four Division II national championships at Northwest Missouri State.
And in his lone season at Drake, he led the Bulldogs to a 31-4 record, a Missouri Valley Conference championship, and a March Madness win.
But now at Iowa, beyond recruiting players, McCollum had to recruit fans back to a program that turned its back on them.
When he walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the first time back in March, McCollum passed through a gathering of students and fans sporting plain white dress shirts and yellow ties, emulating his signature look. He posed for pictures and signed apparel before heading up to the podium.
Then he spent the summer going to fan events and doing interviews, continuously stressing the need for fans to come out to games.
“It makes the environment so much more fun,” he said.
And after averaging just over 5000 fans a game last season, 9232 showed out last night against Robert Morris. That would have been the second most at any game last year.
“It was great. Energy was great.” point guard Bennett Stirtz said.
Those that came saw high flying alley-oops, long three pointers, and a relentless hunger on defense not seen in Iowa City for a long time. A 17-2 lead built up in the first five minutes blossomed into a 101-69 win. A true team effort, with six players reaching double figures.
All six were transfers, with four: Bennett Stirtz, Tavion Banks, Cam Manyawu, and Isaia Howard, following McCollum from Drake.
As he went through the postgame handshake line, McCollum loosened his tie and ran over to the student section with his players, working his way around the perimeter of the court, high fiving, fist bumping, and handshaking everyone he could in the process.
“You gotta show them you appreciate them. I really, truly believe they need to be in it with us,” he said.
And he asked for one thing in return.
“Keep coming through the goods and the bads. It’s not gonna be perfect. It’s not gonna be like this every night, but it can be really special if we have them on our side.”
One down, 30 to go. A new era of Hawkeye basketball is underway.
