After fifteen seasons leading the Iowa men’s basketball program, the Hawkeyes officially closed the book on the Fran McCaffery era after the team was eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention for the second consecutive season. While moving on from a long-tenured coach is never easy, this felt like the right move for a program that had notched only one NCAA Tournament victory since the end of 2019 and is still seeking its first Sweet Sixteen berth since the 1998-1999 season. While McCaffery deserves credit for resurrecting the program and returning Iowa basketball to respectability, it was becoming increasingly clear that the program had hit its ceiling under his leadership.
The Fran Five: Choosing the Greatest Hawkeyes of the Fran McCaffery Era
