Iowa, Florida Coaches Nearly Get Into ‘WWE Raw Is War’ Fight During Heated March Madness Upset

These boys were trying to take it back to the Attitude Era!

In college basketball, there’s a good chunk of epic rivalries. We have Duke and North Carolina, Michigan and Michigan State, Kentucky and Louisville, Indiana and Purdue, the list goes on and on. But we apparently need to add a new one to the list after Sunday.

In the second round of the NCAA March Madness tournament, Iowa head coach Ben McCollum and Florida head coach Todd Golden ended up getting into verbal warfare during a timeout. And this wasn’t just your typical back-and-forth, it looked like these guys could’ve easily got violent with each other. That’s how intense this moment was. (RELATED: ‘Win Or Lose, Give Glory To God’: Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz Uses Platform To Praise The Lord After Upset Over Florida)

During the first half with 8:34 left on the clock, with No. 9 seed Iowa holding a 19-13 advantage over No. 1 seed Florida, Gators forward Alex Condon and Hawkeyes forward Alvaro Folgueiras got into a little bit of a tussle while going for the rebound. Well, this resulted in technical fouls being called on each player.

At first, it looked like Folgueiras attempted to punch Condon amid the chaos, however, it appears that he actually was trying to direct his punch towards the ball, with the knock not even making contact with Condon. With that being said, tensions were high, so much that both coaches erupted and were ready to throw down.

Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras & Florida’s Alex Condon received technical fouls on this play. pic.twitter.com/IKcZiqsPvP

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 22, 2026

Needless to say, Golden wasn’t happy whatsoever with the double-technical fouls, feeling like Folgueiras trying to punch should’ve caused extra punishment against the Hawkeyes.

Todd Golden in reaction to the double technical call following the scuffle between Alvaro Folgueiras and Alex Condon:

“Are you fucking kidding me? You mother fucker, man.” pic.twitter.com/paLZ7gSSlW

— Eliot Clough (@EliotClough) March 22, 2026

It’s not completely clear why (nor when) McCollum and Golden got into it, but it took place sometime following the scuffle between Condon and Folgueiras.

PUT ME IN THIS GAME LETS GO! pic.twitter.com/8HupgcNlzy

— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) March 22, 2026

SCENES IN TAMPA BAY—

TODD GOLDEN AND BEN MCCOLLUM EXCHANGING WORDS pic.twitter.com/mAKOCXySHI

— Robbie Lastella (@RLastellaReport) March 22, 2026

Florida head coach Todd Golden just unleashed on the Iowa bench and Ben McCollum was not having it pic.twitter.com/UymMOz6mds

— Sean Bock (@SBock247) March 22, 2026

March Madness at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.