Dana Altman has announced his retirement.
To much of the world, he was Oregon coach Dana Altman.
To me, he will always be Creighton coach Dana Altman.
He won 792 games as a Division I coach, with stops at Marshall and Kansas State before he led Creighton and Oregon to greatness. I might be a bit biased, but I believe that for all he achieved since starting his head coaching career in 1989, nothing was more impressive than the way he pulled the Creighton program out of the mud.
It’s personal for me. You see, I was a sports writer for the Creighton University student newspaper in the fall of 1994 when Altman arrived. I was a wide-eyed 20-year-old junior attending college in my hometown of Omaha.
A quick rewind – I was a high-school kid during the Tony Barone era in the late 1980s and early 1990s with stars Bob Harstad and Chad Gallagher. I used to listen to the Bluejays on the radio at night after I did my homework — or if I did my homework, depending on how important the game was. I loved those teams, and they were competitive. They even reached the NCAA Tournament twice and won a game once.
After Barone left for Texas A&M in 1991, Rick Johnson took over and things went south. I enrolled at Creighton in the fall of 1992 and was a sophomore the final year of the Johnson era. The Bluejays went 24-59 in three years under Johnson.
I saw the empty seats at the old Civic Auditorium. I heard the jokes in class. The Creighton I had listened to on the radio was long gone.
A visibly emotional Dana Altman during his opening statement. Had to stop multiple times due to holding back tears. He’s referencing a quote from Tom Izzo at the beginning. Ends by asking AD Rob Mullens: “Cover me here. Say something.” https://t.co/TzDNzoMX1I
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) October 7, 2026
That’s why I couldn’t believe Creighton somehow got Altman. Even though he was from Wilber, Nebraska, I still didn’t think there was any way a coach of his caliber would come to the Hilltop.
I was afraid to hope, but he was so good I couldn’t help it. So after he arrived, I did what any starry-eyed young reporter would do. I requested an interview.
I did not expect a response, but I got one. He granted it. I had pulled my first “big” interview.
From that point on, he was my guy.
Creighton went 7-19 that first year, but my senior year, the 1995-96 season, we started seeing glimmers of hope. Altman recruited a superstar named Rodney Buford out of Milwaukee, and Buford became the building block for what Creighton is now. Going to basketball games became cool for the first time during my college years.
Buford was electric. He was a scoring machine, a sleek 6-foot-5 small forward who could jump out of the gym. And even as Creighton struggled those first few years, Buford started putting people in the seats at the old Civic.
Creighton went 14-15 in 1995-96. Then 15-15 the next year. Then 18-10. After that, Altman’s Bluejays won at least 20 games for 11 straight years, then 18 in his final season, 2009-2010. He brought in high-quality players like Ben Walker and Ryan Sears and Nate Funk. And of course, Kyle Korver. What a run he had.
Years after I graduated from Creighton in 1996, while I worked for The Associated Press in Indianapolis, I saw Altman recruiting at a big summer tournament. I walked up to him, shook his hand and thanked him. Because after he came along, when I told people I went to Creighton, people knew exactly what I was talking about.
MORE: Dana Altman retires
Yes, Greg McDermott did great things as Creighton’s coach. But they were on the heels of Altman’s success.
Altman’s record at Creighton was 327-176, good for a .650 winning percentage. He was statistically better at Oregon and reached his only Final Four with the Ducks in 2017.
But he did something at Creighton that numbers can’t quantify.
He put my alma mater back on the map.
Once again, thank you, coach Altman.
