After leading the Oregon men’s basketball team to an unprecedented six consecutive 20-win seasons and four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, University of Oregon head coach Dana Altman has been rewarded with a new seven-year contract totaling $18.45 million that will extend him through the 2022-23 season.
Included in those NCAA appearances are an Elite Eight (2016) and a pair of Sweet 16s (2013, 2016), as Altman is one of only six active coaches in NCAA Division I with 19 consecutive winning seasons. That exclusive fraternity includes Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, Tom Izzo of Michigan State, Roy Williams of North Carolina, Bill Self of Kansas and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.
The 2013 National Coach of the Year and three-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year has won more games in his first six seasons than any coach in Oregon history. Altman is 154-64 in Eugene, and 564-307 in 27 seasons as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level in stints at Oregon, Creighton, Kansas State and Marshall.
UO Director of Athletics Rob Mullens recognized Altman’s ability to build a winning team on a consistent basis.
“Dana is one of the top coaches in the country and has quickly built an elite program. We are excited about the present and future of our program under Dana’s leadership,” said Mullens.
Incentives tied to the Ducks’ on-court performance and student-athlete academic success are also part of the new contract. Funding for Altman’s contract comes solely from athletic department funds, with the department receiving no direct institutional support.
Altman, the 19th head coach in the history of the Oregon men’s basketball program, is coming off a 2015-16 season that ranks among the best in school history. The Ducks’ 31 wins were not only a school record, but also the most for Altman at the Division I level as he guided Oregon to the Pac-12’s regular season and conference title in the same year for the first time in school history.
After reaching the NCAA’s Elite Eight, he was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the third time in four seasons, a feat matched only by Hall of Famer Lute Olson of Arizona.
Altman arrived at UO after spending 16 seasons at Creighton, where he became the school’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 327-176 (.650). He led the Blue Jays to 13 consecutive postseason appearances and a stretch of 11 straight seasons with 20-plus wins, all while producing 10 or more league victories in each of the last 14 seasons. Those three feats were unmatched in the 103 years of the Missouri Valley Conference.
