Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder announces retirement; longtime assistant takes over
Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder announced her retirement with a letter to Hawkeye Nation on Monday.
"It has been the honor of my career to be a part of the Iowa Hawkeye family, and to lead a women’s basketball program filled with so many talented and remarkable young women, who have gone on to do great things in their careers and, more importantly, in their lives," she said in the announcement.
The University of Iowa wasted little time naming Bluder's successor. Jan Jensen, who played for Bluder at Drake and has been on her Iowa staff since 2000, will take over.
“I have been so blessed to have enjoyed an incredible ride with Lisa,” Jensen said. “That ride started when I was her player and continued for 33 years as I had the privilege to work alongside of her. I can’t thank Lisa enough for her mentorship, leadership, and most of all her friendship. I am so proud of all we accomplished and grateful for all the memories we created."
Bluder, 63, is a Marion, Iowa, native who played basketball at Northern Iowa before going into coaching. She spent six seasons at St. Ambrose College in Davenport, where she had a 169-36 record between 1984 and 1990.
She moved on to Drake University in 1990, where she had a 293-188 record over 10 years.
She's spent the last 24 seasons at Iowa, where the Hawkeyes won at least 20 games in each of her last eight seasons — including 38 and 39 in the last two, respectively, when they reached the NCAA championship game. She was 528-254 overall at Iowa and 262-145 in the Big Ten Conference.
Despite the announcement, Bluder is keeping her commitment to speak . The event is scheduled for 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in West Des Moines. Other scheduled speakers include football coach Kirk Ferentz, men's basketball assistant coach Matt Gatens and "voice of the Hawkeyes" Gary Dolphin.
Bluder's 884 career wins are 10th most in NCAA women’s basketball history.
Iowa basketball: Lisa Bluder's coaching career by the numbers
"Coach Bluder is a Hall of Fame coach," Clark said last month during Iowa's run to the championship game. "I think the biggest thing for me throughout the recruiting process that I loved about her is she's a player's coach. She's not going to have a set offense that you have to run. She's going to tailor everything to what she has on her team and what's going to put her team in positions to be very successful."
WATCH: Caitlin Clark calls playing for Bluder, 'One of the best decisions I've ever made'
Bluder was the Naismith national coach of the year in 2019, the year she coached another national player of the year in Megan Gustafson. Clark won the last two Naismith awards with Bluder at the helm.
Bluder was honored last month with the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center's Pillar of Character Award. In an interview with vlog, she said next season "might be a bit of a rebuilding year just because we did lose five seniors."
"But at the same time, we have the ninth-best recruiting class in America coming in, we're going to get some help from the transfer portal and we return a couple of starters. Instead of Affolter and Hannah Stuelke, along with Kylie Feuerbach, who was instrumental coming off the bench for us," Bluder said.
Jensen, 55, is a Kimballton, Iowa, native. After playing for Bluder at Drake she assisted her for more than 30 years, starting first at Drake and then at Iowa.
Last month, Jensen called Bluder "one of the good guys" in women's basketball.
"She is a coach who got into the profession when there was no money or fame involved, "swept the floor, did all the things right, drove the vans, and has really, I think, done a lot behind the scenes to continue pushing (women's basketball) forward," Jensen said.
vlog archives from 1998: A day in the life of Drake basketball coach and new mom Lisa Bluder
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.
Read Lisa Bluder's announcement
Dear Hawkeye Nation:
It is with a range of emotions that I share with you today that I have decided to step down from leading the Iowa women’s basketball team after 24 memorable years. I informed President Wilson and Director of Athletics Beth Goetz of my decision and I am grateful for their unwavering support and offered them my assistance in any manner in the future.
It has been the honor of my career to be a part of the Iowa Hawkeye family, and to lead a women’s basketball program filled with so many talented and remarkable young women, who have gone on to do great things in their careers and, more importantly, in their lives. There is no denying that this past season was incredible for so many reasons, and we could not have accomplished our achievements without all of you. After the season ended, I spent time with our student-athletes and coaches reviewing the season and preparing those moving on for what comes next. With that also came personal contemplation about what this journey has meant to me, how to best champion this program, and what the future looks like for my family and me. After then taking some time away with my husband, David, it became clear to me that I am ready to step aside.
There is never an ideal time to retire and I am sure this fall that I will miss the games, the practices, the road trips, the atmosphere, the tremendous fans and, most importantly, the players. But my belief in the foundation of this program, knowing that success is now an unrelenting component of women’s basketball at the University of Iowa gives me comfort as I transition to become the program’s biggest champion.
I want to thank each and every young woman who believed in our program and in our values for nearly a quarter of a century, and who proudly wore the Black & Gold.
I want to thank Presidents Coleman, Skorton, Mason, Harreld and Wilson for their unequivocal support of our program and Directors of Athletics Dr. Christine Grant, Bob Bowlsby, Gary Barta and Beth Goetz for their unrelenting partnership.
I want to thank my assistant coaches and operations and support staff who each played an integral role in our journey. I specifically want to acknowledge the work of Jan Jensen and Jenni Fitzgerald whom I have had the pleasure of working alongside for the past 32 years.
I want to thank the incredible fans for believing in what we were doing and how we were doing it, creating the greatest home court advantage in all of women’s basketball.
And finally, I want to thank David and our children, Hannah, Emma and David, Jr., for supporting me while I pursued my dreams and for their own sacrifices along the way.
It is my hope that now with more time and energy, I can be an asset to our basketball program and this athletics department in any way that I am able.
With Love and Gratitude,
Lisa
WATCH: Lisa Bluder has heartwarming moment with a young reporter after NCAA championship game