Drake Coach Ben McCollum Doesn't Shut Down Indiana Rumors

In his first season as head coach of the Drake Bulldogs, Ben McCollum led the team to a school-record 30-win season, won the Missouri Valley regular season and tournament championships, won MVC Coach of the Year, and secured an 11-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Not a bad debut season for the first-year Division I head coach who spent 15 seasons as head coach of Division II Northwest Missouri State. But could it be McCollum's only season with the Bulldogs? Surely, after the success he had in his first year, big schools are going to come calling. 

That's exactly what OutKick's Dan Dakich asked McCollum on Monday when the Drake head coach joined "Don't @ Me" and McCollum didn't rule anything out. 

"If you answer it and say, 'I'm focused on this and focused on that,' it's like, 'Oh, he didn't say the obvious' … so it's like, well, what are you supposed to say?" McCollum said, alluding to the idea that he is obviously getting interest from higher-tier programs and, of course, he has to consider those offers. 

Drake head coach Ben McCollum has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Mike Woodson at Indiana and he didn't shut down the rumors when he joined OutKick's Dan Dakich on Monday.

(Jeff Curry/Imagn Images)

That being said, McCollum admitted that he feels loyalty to the kids at Drake. 

"I've learned through… some of my mentors and just through myself that the kids that played for us are very, very loyal to us. And for me, I have to reciprocate that. And so, in a lot of these settings, it's very important that I don't have a divided heart when I'm coaching," McCollum said. 

Of course, because Dan Dakich is Dan Dakich and still thinks Indiana basketball is a premiere program in college basketball, he had to ask about the opening after the school decided to part ways with Mike Woodson. 

While McCollum didn't indicate that he's looking at the Indiana job, he didn't deny it, either. 

"You just have to keep your heart where it belongs. I know that a lot of coaches in this profession are on this fast track, just like a lot of players," McCollum said, dancing around the idea of leaving Drake for a better job. 

"I make plenty of money where I'm at right now. I made plenty of money at Northwest Missouri State. I'll continue down that path and make sure that loyalty to me with my kids and my team means a lot more," McCollum added. 

WATCH: 

Ben McCollum can say he's made plenty of money and that's not a motivating factor, but c'mon. Indiana can back up a Brinks truck to his house and Drake can't. 

Of course, Indiana has to back up a Brinks truck because who the hell wants to go live in Bloomington, Indiana and finish ninth in the Big Ten? 

Indiana isn't the destination that it once was, which is why they might eye someone like McCollum, who is more of an upstart than an established head coach at the Division I level. 

McCollum seems like a good fit for the Hoosiers, but we're all going to have to wait and see what happens with Drake in the NCAA Tournament. They face Missouri in the Round of 64 on Thursday and are currently 6.5-point underdogs. 

Don't @ Me" airs Monday-Friday on OutKick.com from 9-11 a.m. ET.