Altman Steps Down After 16 Seasons
Dana Altman, the winningest coach in Oregon men's basketball history, announced his retirement on Wednesday, effective immediately, the University of Oregon said. The 68-year-old was set to begin his 17th season with the Ducks and his 38th overall as a collegiate head coach. Altman compiled a 382-182 record at Oregon from 2010-11 through 2025-26 and a 792-425 record in 37 seasons as a Division I head coach, the 15th-most wins in NCAA history and fifth highest among active coaches.[S1][S2][S3][S5]
Under Altman, Oregon appeared in nine NCAA tournaments, including a Final Four run in 2017. The Ducks also won four Pac-12 regular-season championships and four Pac-12 tournament titles during his tenure. His teams reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021, and the Elite Eight in 2016 and 2017. The 2016-17 team won a school-record 33 games.[S1][S3][S5]
Altman said he has had to make two really tough decisions in his coaching career: leaving Creighton, a place his family and he dearly loved, to come to Oregon, and now stepping away. He said he has loved every minute of coaching at Oregon and that stepping away is difficult and truly painful. He added that he loves coaching, that it is what he knows best and what he has been fortunate enough to do for almost five decades, and that he will miss his coaches, players, and fans more than he can express. He thanked former athletic director Pat Kilkenny, Phil Knight, Tim Boyle, his coaches and players past and present, Rob, President Scholz, and the fans, calling it the honor of his life to coach the Ducks.[S1]
Stubblefield Named Interim Coach
Assistant coach Tony Stubblefield will serve as Oregon's interim head coach for the 2026-27 season. Stubblefield has spent 13 seasons on Altman's Oregon staff, was an original member of the staff in 2010, and helped the Ducks reach eight NCAA tournaments, five Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, and a Final Four during his first stint. He was head coach at DePaul University from 2021 to 2024 before returning to Eugene in 2024.[S1][S3][S5]
Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said Stubblefield has been on Altman's staff for most of his time in Eugene and knows the program as well as anyone. Mullens said the student-athletes know and trust Stubblefield and that he is the right person to lead the Ducks this season. Mullens also praised Altman, saying he built the program to a level few coaches reach anywhere, and that while the record book tells only part of the story, Altman and his wife Reva gave much of themselves to the university and to the young men who played for him.[S1][S3]
University of Oregon President Karl Scholz said that for 16 years Altman led a highly successful and competitive men's basketball program, represented Oregon with class, and won at an extremely high level. Scholz thanked Altman and Reva for everything they have done for the Ducks and the community and said the university will miss having him as the leader of the men's basketball program.[S3]
Season Opens Amid Transition
Oregon went 12-20 overall last season, Altman's worst during his tenure, as he lamented changes affecting college sports, including name, image, and likeness rules and the transfer portal. Nearly the entire roster turned over in the offseason, with nine players entering the transfer portal and three graduating. Former five-star recruits Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans Jr. were among those who entered the portal.[S1][S2][S5]
The Ducks begin the 2026-27 season on Nov. 2 against the University of Montana. Altman's retirement comes eight days before Oregon's exhibition against Seattle and less than a month before the season opener. A national search for the permanent head coach will commence after the season. Altman was scheduled to speak at a 1:30 p.m. press conference on Wednesday.[S1][S4][S6]
