NCAAB: Oregon head coach Dana Altman retires in surprise move

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Oregon head coach Dana Altman announced his retirement Wednesday after 16 seasons with the Ducks’ program in a move that was effective immediately.

The decision by the winningest head coach in program history comes less than three weeks before the season opener against Stanford and ahead of next week’s home exhibition game against Seattle.

Altman’s Oregon teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament nine times, including a 2017 run to the Final Four. He departs with a 382-182 record with the Ducks that includes four Pac-12 regular-season titles and four Pac-12 Tournament titles.

“I have had to make two really tough decisions in my coaching career,” Altman said in a news release. “The first was leaving Creighton, a place my family and I dearly loved, to come to Oregon. This is the second. I’ve loved every minute of coaching here, and stepping away is difficult and truly painful.

“I love coaching, it’s what I know best and what I’ve been fortunate enough to do for almost five decades. I’m going to miss my coaches, my players and our incredible fans more than I can express.”

The Ducks were 25-10 during their first season in the Big Ten Conference in 2024-25 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But they went 12-20 last season to finish with a sub-.500 record for the first time under Altman.

Altman, 68, has served as a Division I coach for 37 seasons, going a combined 792-425 in a run that included stints at Marshall (1989-90), Kansas State (1990-94) and Creighton (1994-2010). His teams have advanced to 17 total NCAA Tournaments.

Oregon announced that assistant coach Tony Stubblefield will take over on an interim basis. Stubblefield was on Altman’s original staff at Oregon in 2010 before departing to become head coach at DePaul for three seasons then returning to the Ducks in 2024.

“Tony has been on Dana’s staff for most of his time in Eugene and knows this program as well as anyone,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said. “Our student-athletes know him and trust him, and he is the right person to lead the Ducks this season.”

Oregon announced an intention to conduct a national search for a head coach following the upcoming season.

–Field Level Media