Dana Altman

Dana Dean Altman (born June 16, 1958) is an American college basketball coach, currently the Ducks men's basketball head coach at the University of Oregon. He was hired in 2010, after serving as the head coach at Creighton University from 1994 to 2010. Altman also led Kansas State University from 1990 to 1994 and started as an NCAA head coach at Marshall University in 1989. He has been honored as a conference coach of the year on each team that he has led, won ten conference tournament championships and seven regular season titles. Altman has reached the NCAA tournament sixteen times, including leading the Ducks to the Final Four in 2017; their first as a program since 1939.

College education Dana Altman began playing college basketball at Fairbury Junior College (now Southeast Community College) in Fairbury, Nebraska. He earned an associate degree in business administration there in 1978. He then received his undergraduate degree in the same field at Eastern New Mexico University in 1980.

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 the Missouri Valley Conference, trailing only Hall of Fame coaches Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey. His record in 16 seasons with the Creighton Bluejays was 327–176 , the second most wins in school history.

Oregon On April 24, 2010, Altman agreed to a 7-year contract worth nearly $2 million per year with Oregon. 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 the NCAA 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.

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.

On November 17, 2017, Altman won his 600th career Division I game in a 114–56 Ducks win over Alabama State.

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. Two weeks later, Altman notched his 235th win at Oregon with a victory over UC Irvine in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, tying Ernie 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.

Personal life Altman was born in Wilber, Nebraska. He and his wife Reva have four children.

Controversies

Altman has had issues in his least two instances at his time in Oregon regarding alleged cases of sexual assault perpetrated by players under his watch. The first instance was Brandon Austin, who was recruited from Providence College by Altman, despite the coach knowing about Austin's previous suspension from that institution due to allegations of sexual assault. Austin would be accused of rape in 2014 while a player on the team, and while no charges were filed, the accuser would settle a suit with the University for $800,000. Another player, Kavell Bigby-Williams, played the 2016-17 season while under investigation for sexual assault at his previous institution, with the charges later being dropped. Head coaching record NJCAA

NCAA