Iowa women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder is retiring after 24 seasons with the Hawkeyes, she announced Monday. Longtime assistant Jan Jensen will be the team’s next head coach.
“There is never an ideal time to retire and I am sure this fall that I will miss the games, the practices, the road trips, the atmosphere, the tremendous fans and, most importantly, the players,” Bluder said in a statement. “But my belief in the foundation of this program, knowing that success is now an unrelenting component of women’s basketball at the University of Iowa gives me comfort as I transition to become the program’s biggest champion.
“… It is my hope that now with more time and energy, I can be an asset to our basketball program and this athletics department in any way that I am able.”
Bluder’s announcement was unexpected and she did not go into more details as to why she chose to retire this offseason. Over her legendary career, Bluder earned Naismith Coach of the Year honors in 2019 and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2001, 2008 and 2010.
The 63-year-old just guided the Hawkeyes to their second consecutive NCAA championship game appearance. The program had been on the rise while Caitlin Clark…
