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ENMU Alumnus Named Head Basketball Coach at UO
Source: University of Oregon Website
ENMU Alumnus Dana Altman (BBA80) was named the 19th head coach in the history of the University of Oregon men’s basketball program last April with a seven-year contract worth almost $2 million per year.
Altman arrived at UO after spending 16 seasons at Creighton University where he became the school’s all-time most winning coach with a record of 327-176. He was 410-243 in 21 seasons as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level (previous schools: Creighton, Kansas State, Marshall).
He led Creighton to 13 consecutive postseason appearances, 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 have gone unmatched in the 103 years of the Missouri Valley Conference. He has won four Coach of the Year awards from three different conferences spanning 13 seasons, including back-to-back MVC coaching honors while he was at the Omaha, Neb., educational institution in 2001 and 2002. Altman was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award and was named the NABC District 12 and USBWA District VI Coach of the Year following the 2002-03 campaign. Student-athletes under his direction have earned six All-America honors on the court and four Academic All-America laurels in the classroom. Three players he coached at Creighton, Kyle Korver, Rodney Buford and Anthony Tolliver, have played in the NBA.
The 2009-10 season saw Creighton average 14,495 fans per game to rank 15th nationally in attendance. The Bluejays went 15-2 in home games, including a 13-2 mark at Qwest Center Omaha. Creighton, which advanced to the third round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, finished with an 18-10 overall record, narrowly missing its 12th straight 20-win season. Creighton, finishing 10-8 in MVC play, extended its streak to 14 straight seasons with 10 or more conference wins.
Born in Crete, Neb., Altman played at Eastern New Mexico University where he graduated magna cum laude. He received his master of business administration degree from Western (Colo.) State in 1981 where he served as an assistant coach on the Western State staff from 1980-82.
At Wilber (Neb.) High School, Altman was a two-sport letterman, earning all-conference honors as a quarterback on the football team and as a guard in basketball.
Altman has two assistant coaches, Brian Fish and Darian DeVries, who have been with him for 12 years each. The Ducks so far this season are 14-12.
Altman and his wife, the former Reva Phillips of Stanton, Neb., have three sons, Jordan, Chase and Spencer and one daughter, Audra.
