.jpg) | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Oregon |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Record | 374–162 (.698) |
| Annual salary | $3.525 million[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1958-06-16)June 16, 1958 (age 67) Wilber, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1976–1978 | Southeast CC |
| 1978–1980 | Eastern New Mexico |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1980–1982 | Western Colorado (assistant) |
| 1982–1983 | Southeast Community College |
| 1983–1986 | Moberly Community College |
| 1986–1989 | Kansas State (assistant) |
| 1989–1990 | Marshall |
| 1990–1994 | Kansas State |
| 1994–2010 | Creighton |
| 2010–present | Oregon |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 784–405 (.659) (college) |
| Tournaments | 18–17 (NCAA Division I) 13–11 (NIT) 2–1 (CIT) 5–1 (CBI) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA Regional—Final Four (2017) CBI (2011) 6×MVC Tournament (1999,2000,2002,2003,2005,2007) 3×MVC Regular Season (2001, 2002, 2009) 4×Pac-12 Tournament (2013,2016,2019,2024) 4×Pac-12 Regular Season (2016, 2017, 2020, 2021) | |
| Awards | |
| SoCon Coach of the Year (1990) Big Eight Coach of the Year (1993) 2×MVC Coach of the Year (2001, 2002) 3×Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2013, 2015, 2016) Jim Phelan Award (2013) | |
Dana Dean Altman (born June 16, 1958) is an Americancollege basketball coach of theOregon Ducks men's team.[2] Previously he was head coach atCreighton,Kansas State andMarshall. He has been awarded a Coach of the Year Award for each team that he has coached in the NCAA to go with ten conference tournament championships and seven regular season titles while reaching theNCAA tournament sixteen times; he led the Ducks to theFinal Four in 2017, which was their first as a program since 1939.
Dana Altman began playingcollege basketball at Fairbury Junior College (nowSoutheast Community College) inFairbury,Nebraska. He earned an associate degree in business administration there in 1978. He then received his undergraduate degree in the same field atEastern New Mexico University in 1980.[3]
In his first NCAA Division I head coaching position, Altman became the head men's basketball coach at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia in 1989. Although he only spent one season as the coach of the Thundering Herd, Altman led the Herd to a 15–13 record and to runners-up in the Southern Conference tournament losing to East Tennessee State in the tournament championship game. Altman left Marshall after only one season to replace his mentor,Lon Kruger, at Kansas State.
Although his four-year tenure asKansas State's head coach produced oneNCAA tournament appearance, Altman will be remembered most for his ability to win close ball games, and for pulling off some of the biggest upsets in school history.[citation needed]
Altman's teams were 28–13 in games decided by six points or less, which included a 6–1 mark in one-point games. His 1992–93 club perpetuated a Kansas State tradition. Picked to finish last in the Big Eight, Altman's Wildcats won 11 games in the final minute, earned the school's first Top 25 ranking in five seasons, finished 19–11, reached the championship game of the Big Eight tournament and returned Kansas State to theNCAA tournament for the 21st time.
Altman's peers named him Big Eight Coach-of-the-Year in 1993 and he capped the season by upsetting No. 6 Kansas 74–67 in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
The following season, he made it two in a row overKansas when he upset the No. 1 rankedJayhawks 68–64 inLawrence. His 1993–94 squad finished the season with a 20–14 record and advanced to theNIT Final Four inNew York City. Following the season, he accepted the head coaching position atCreighton, in his home state ofNebraska.
During his time at Creighton, his athletes earned three All-American honors on the court and three other Academic All-America laurels in the classroom. Three players he coached at Creighton,Kyle Korver,Rodney Buford, andAnthony Tolliver, have played in theNBA.
Altman was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year twice, first in 2001 and also in 2002. Altman was a finalist for theNaismith College Coach of the Year and named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC District 12 andUSBWA District VI Coach of the Year in 2002–03.
Altman became the 14th head coach in Creighton history following the 1993–94 season after four years as the head coach atKansas State. Hired on March 31, 1994, Altman inherited a team that posted a 7–22 ledger the year before his arrival and led the Bluejays to a slightly improved 7–19 record in 1994–95 before his 1995–96 squad jumped to 14–15. In 1996–97, Altman's team was 15–15 and followed with another substantial jump to 18–10 and a bid to theNIT in 1997–98.
On April 2, 2007, Altman announced that he would become the head coach for theArkansas Razorbacks, in a deal that was rumored to be a $1.5 million per year, 5-year contract. Only one day later he had a change of heart and returned toOmaha and his team at Creighton, citing family reasons. He had not consulted his wife or high school age daughter prior to accepting the job.[4]
On February 5, 2009, Altman won his 300th game as Creighton head coach. In his first 13 years at Creighton, Altman ranked third all-time on the coaching victories list in the 99-year history of theMissouri Valley Conference, trailing only Hall of Fame coachesHenry Iba andEddie Hickey. His record in 16 seasons with theCreighton Bluejays was 327–176 (.650), the second most wins in school history.
On April 24, 2010, Altman agreed to a 7-year contract worth nearly $2 million per year withOregon.[5][6][7][8][9] The university made it official on April 26 with a press conference. As of 2020, he is the currently highest-paid public employee of the state of Oregon.
Under Dana Altman, the University of Oregon has consistently been one of the top basketball schools in the Pac-12, with notable conference achievements including three regular season Pac-12 Conference championships (2016, 2017, 2019), and four Pac-12 tournament championships (2013, 2016, 2019, 2024). His prior coaching experience playing against UCLA was one of the main reasons why Oregon recruited him, as the Ducks wanted to improve standings. Altman has also led the Ducks to success in the NCAA tournament, including a Final Four run in 2017.
In 2013 Oregon earned its first NCAA tournament bid under Dana Altman. This run ended in the sweet sixteen. Oregon continued this success, making the NCAA tournament in 2014 and 2015. Both the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons ended in the round of 32.
On March 13, 2016, Oregon earned its first #1 seed in theNCAA tournament in program history thanks to winning the Pac-12 regular season and conference tournament titles.On February 28, 2024, Altman hit 750 career wins in a 78–71 win over rival Oregon State.
On March 26, 2016, the Oregon Ducks lost, as a #1 seed in the Elite Eight to the #2 seeded Oklahoma Sooners due in large part to a lights out shooting performance by Buddy Hield.[10]
On November 11, 2016, Oregon and Altman agreed on a seven-year contract extension that will keep him in Eugene through the 2022–2023 season.
On March 25, 2017, Altman led the #3 seeded Ducks to their first Final Four in 78 years with a 74–60 upset over #1 seed Kansas in Kansas City. This was Altman's first Final Four appearance. Oregon would go on to lose in the Final Four to end what was considered a massively successful season for Altman and the Ducks.[11]
On November 17, 2017, Altman won his 600th career Division I game in a 114–56 Ducks win overAlabama State.[12]
On March 14, 2019, Oregon and Altman agreed on a three-year contract extension that will keep him in Eugene through the 2025–2026 season.[13] Two weeks later, Altman notched his 235th win at Oregon with a victory over UC Irvine in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, tyingErnie Kent as the winningest coach in school history. He broke the record with Oregon's first win of the following season, over Fresno State on November 5, 2019.
Altman was born inWilber, Nebraska.[3] He and his wife Reva have four children.[3] Altman, who had been anEagle Scout in theBoy Scouts of America, received aDistinguished Eagle Scout Award in 2008.[14][15]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Bobcats(Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference)(1982–1983) | |||||||||
| 1982–83 | Southeast JC | 29–6 | NJCAA Tournament | ||||||
| Southeast JC: | 29–6 (.829) | ||||||||
| Moberly Greyhounds(Missouri Community College Athletic Conference)(1983–1986) | |||||||||
| 1983–84 | Moberly | 25–9 | |||||||
| 1984–85 | Moberly | 35–5 | NJCAA Tournament | ||||||
| 1985–86 | Moberly | 34–4 | NJCAA Tournament | ||||||
| Moberly: | 94–18 (.839) | ||||||||
| Total: | 123–24 (.837) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||