Dana Dean Altman (born June 16, 1958) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach of the Oregon Ducks men's team. Previously he was head coach at Creighton, Kansas State and

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

. 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 the NCAA tournament sixteen times; he led the Ducks to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

in 2017, which was their first as a program since 1939.

College education

Dana Altman began playing

at Fairbury Junior College (now Southeast Community College) in Fairbury,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. 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.

Coaching career

Marshall

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 Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is an American former college and professional basketball coach (sport), coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for K ...

, at Kansas State.

Kansas State

Although his four-year tenure as Kansas State's head coach produced one NCAA 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. 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 the NCAA 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 over

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

when he upset the No. 1 ranked Jayhawks 68–64 in Lawrence. His 1993–94 squad finished the season with a 20–14 record and advanced to the NIT Final Four in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Following the season, he accepted the head coaching position at Creighton, in his home state of

Creighton

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 Kyle Elliot Korver (born March 17, 1981) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for ...

, Rodney Buford, and Anthony Tolliver, have played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. Altman was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year twice, first in 2001 and also in 2002. Altman was a finalist for the Naismith College Coach of the Year and named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC District 12 and USBWA 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 at Kansas 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 the NIT in 1997–98. On April 2, 2007, Altman announced that he would become the head coach for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

, 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 to

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

and his team at Creighton, citing family reasons. He had not consulted his wife or high school age daughter prior to accepting the job. 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 The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

, trailing only Hall of Fame coaches

Henry Iba Henry Payne “Hank” Iba (; August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwes ...

and Eddie Hickey. His record in 16 seasons with the

Creighton Bluejays The Creighton Bluejays, or Jays, are the athletic teams that represent Creighton University, a Jesuit/Catholic University in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. They compete in NCAA Division I in the Big East Conference. Sports sponsored Base ...

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 Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. 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 Ernest Kent (born January 22, 1955)GoDucks.com ...

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 Wilber is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Nebraska, Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,855 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saline County. Wilber is the official "C ...

. He and his wife Reva have four children. Altman, who had been an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, received a

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

in 2008.

Head coaching record

Junior college

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, Dana 1958 births Living people Basketball coaches from Nebraska Basketball players from Nebraska Creighton Bluejays men's basketball coaches Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds men's basketball players Guards (basketball) Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball coaches Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball coaches Moberly Greyhounds men's basketball coaches Oregon Ducks men's basketball coaches People from Crete, Nebraska Western Colorado Mountaineers men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen