Big Ten Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jun 4, 2020

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 17: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after beating the Michigan Wolverines 65-60 in the championship game of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at United Center on March 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

2 of 11

CHAMPAIGN, IL – MARCH 08: Head coach Fran McCaffery of the Iowa Hawkeyes (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

10. Big Ten Basketball coach – Fran McCaffrey (Iowa, 2010-2020)

There’s an impressive history of basketball at Iowa, though they clearly don’t compare to some of the other Big Ten programs. When McCaffrey was brought on in 2010, the program was going through one of their worst dry spells in recent memory. Predecessor Todd Lickliter struggled mightily with the Hawkeyes, but in the decade since they’ve been trending upwards again.

McCaffrey accomplished a lot at UNC Greensboro and Siena and has made Iowa a Big Ten contender again. After a few years of rebuilding this roster, he’d led the Hawkeyes to four NCA Tournaments in the last seven years and definitely would’ve made a fifth had this year’s Tournament not been cancelled. Iowa’s 59-53 mark in Big Ten play since 2014 certainly marks a vast improvement.

A trio of first-round wins is great but McCaffrey still has his eyes on a bigger prize. He and his staff have changed the culture and made Iowa a contending team again, but there’s still work to be done. They’ve yet to finish higher than 3rd in the league and are certainly not in the same conversation with programs like Michigan State or Purdue. Fortunately, McCaffrey is still bringing impressive talent to Iowa and should continue to have this program firing on all cylinders.

Home/Big Ten