Iowa basketball has always been a bit of an enigma. It’s a program that lives in the shadow of blue bloods but somehow manages to punch them in the mouth every few years. Honestly, if you look at the history of past iowa basketball coaches, it’s a weirdly dramatic timeline of Hall of Fame genius, baffling front-office decisions, and "what-if" scenarios that still keep fans up at night.
Most people think Iowa is just a "football school." They're wrong. The hardwood history in Iowa City is deep, but it’s also marked by a strange inability to hold onto greatness once it arrives.
The Architect of the Modern Era: Lute Olson
Before Lute Olson became the silver-haired god of Arizona basketball, he was the guy who actually made Iowa a national threat. People forget how bleak things were before he showed up in 1974. He took a program that was middle-of-the-pack and turned it into a Final Four contender by 1980.
That 1980 run? Pure magic.
With Ronnie Lester leading the charge, Iowa looked like they could win it all. Then Lester got hurt in the national semifinal against Louisville. Most Hawkeye fans still believe—with every fiber of their being—that if Lester’s knee had held up, Iowa would have a national championship banner in the rafters. Olson stayed until 1983, leaving with a 168-90 record. When he left for Tucson, it felt like a gut punch. He wasn't just a coach; he was the guy who proved you could win big in the cornfields.
The George Raveling and Tom Davis Rollercoaster
After Lute, things got interesting. George Raveling stepped in for a three-year stint (1983-1986). He was a master recruiter and a quote machine, but his stay was short. He did, however, leave the cupboard stocked for the man who would become arguably the most beloved figure in program history: Dr. Tom Davis.
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Tom Davis was... different.
He didn’t look like a high-intensity coach. He looked like your favorite history professor. But on the court? He ran the "Full Court Press" that turned Carver-Hawkeye Arena into a house of horrors for opponents. His 1986-87 team won 30 games. Thirty! They were ranked #1 in the country. They fell just short of the Final Four, losing an 84-81 heartbreaker to UNLV in the Elite Eight.
Davis is the winningest coach in school history (269 wins), yet the way it ended still leaves a sour taste in the mouths of locals. In 1998, Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby decided not to renew Davis's contract. It was a move that divided the fan base for a decade. Davis responded by taking his final team to the Sweet 16 in 1999 as a "parting gift."
It’s the classic Iowa story: firing a guy who wins because he doesn't win "enough."
The Steve Alford and Todd Lickliter Slump
If you want to talk about the dark ages of past iowa basketball coaches, you have to look at the mid-2000s. Steve Alford arrived with a massive pedigree—an Indiana legend, a Bobby Knight disciple. On paper, it was a slam dunk. In reality, it was complicated.
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Alford won two Big Ten Tournament titles (2001 and 2006). That’s not nothing. But he never made it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament at Iowa. The "Pierre Pierce affair" and a perceived disconnect from the Iowa culture eventually led to his departure for New Mexico in 2007.
Then came Todd Lickliter.
Look, Lickliter was the NABC National Coach of the Year at Butler. He was supposed to bring "Butler Way" discipline to the Big Ten. It was a disaster. The style of play was glacial. The wins disappeared. In three seasons, he went 38-58. Attendance at Carver-Hawkeye cratered. It was the lowest point for the program in fifty years.
Fran McCaffery: Stability and the "Francon"
In 2010, the school needed a spark. They got a flamethrower in Fran McCaffery.
Fran didn't just win; he brought back the high-scoring, fast-paced identity that Tom Davis had established. Under Fran, Iowa became a staple of the AP Top 25. He developed some of the greatest individual talents to ever wear the jersey:
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- Luka Garza: The only two-time National Player of the Year in school history.
- Keegan Murray: A top-five NBA draft pick.
- Kris Murray: Another first-round talent.
While the "Fran Fade"—a late-season slump that seemed to hit the Hawkeyes periodically—became a meme on social media, you can't deny the consistency. He bypassed Tom Davis for the most wins in program history during the 2023-24 season. He stayed for 15 years, a tenure of stability that the program hadn't seen since the early 20th century.
The New Guard: Ben McCollum
As of 2025, the torch has passed to Ben McCollum. Coming from a legendary run at Northwest Missouri State (where he won four Division II national titles), he represents a shift back to a "tactical" approach. It's a gamble. Transitioning from D-II to the Big Ten is a massive leap, but his 80% plus career winning percentage suggests he knows something the rest of us don't.
Lessons from the Bench
If you're looking at the history of these coaches to understand the program's future, keep these things in mind:
- Recruiting vs. System: Coaches like Raveling and McCaffery lived on talent. Coaches like Davis and Lickliter lived on system. The most successful (Olson/Davis) found the sweet spot in between.
- The "Carver" Factor: Iowa is at its best when the arena is a track meet. Slow, methodical basketball has historically died a quick death in Iowa City.
- Patience is Thin: The fan base is loyal, but they have a long memory. The firing of Tom Davis still serves as a cautionary tale about moving on from "good" in search of "great."
If you're following the Hawkeyes this season, keep an eye on how the rotation handles the defensive transition. Historically, the coaches who failed at Iowa were the ones who couldn't stop the ball in the open court. You can check the current Big Ten standings to see if the "McCollum Era" is sticking to the defensive principles that made him a small-school legend.
Dig into the archives of the 1987 season if you want to see what "peak" Iowa basketball actually looks like—it's the blueprint every coach since has been trying to recreate.