Longtime Oregon men's basketball coach Dana Altman fought back tears as he spoke Wednesday about his decision to retire less than a month before the start of the new season.
Altman took over ahead of the 2010-11 season and is the winningest coach in Oregon history with a 382-182 record. The Ducks made nine NCAA Tournament appearances over that span, including a Final Four berth in 2017.
Oregon also won four Pac-12 regular-season titles and four Pac-12 Tournament
titles.
But at 68, Altman said Wednesday that he didn't have the energy to perform to his standard.
“The main factor is that I looked in the mirror, and I’m not the guy to take these guys where they can get to,” he said. “Guys feed off energy, they feed off confidence. And if I don't have that energy, that confidence for them to feed off, then I'm not the leader.”
Over the course of his 37-year career as a Division I head coach, Altman's record is 792-425. Before his 16 years at Oregon, Altman coached at Creighton for 16 years.
“I hope they say I worked hard and that my teams played hard,” Altman said, pausing with emotion. “Other than that, I was just the caretaker. Oregon basketball is going to be great moving forward. It was good before I got here, and it’s going to be even better after I leave. I was just the caretaker for 16 years.”
Oregon will begin a search for Altman's successor after the season. Assistant coach Tony Stubblefield will lead the Ducks for the 2026-27 season, which begins on Nov. 2 at home against Montana.
Altman informed his players of his decision on Wednesday morning. He acknowledged the timing of his announcement was not ideal, and he apologized to the players.
While Altman's decision came as a surprise, the Ducks have experienced some upheaval. They struggled last season, going 12-20, and the program lost nine players to the transfer portal and three to graduation.
Altman also said his health was a factor in his decision, but it was nothing serious and it was not the only reason.
“It wasn't a decision that I'm walking into lightly. You don't leave something that you love doing it lightly,” Altman said. “So it was tough, and it's hard to admit that you've lost a step, that you're not the best, that you should be. I guess I had to admit that.”
Oregon football coach Dan Lanning was among those offering praise for Altman.
“A great mentor, sees the game, and obviously a Hall of Fame coach with what he’s been able to accomplish,” Lanning said. “I love his story, and how grounded he is, and he’s as good as they come.”
Oregon women's coach Kelly Graves, speaking at Big Ten media days, said Altman will be missed.
“He’s really synonymous with their history, really,” Graves said. “Oregon had good teams over the years but he got them to a Final Four. Got them Pac-12 championships, hadn’t won a lot of those. Got them to Elite Eights and Sweet 16s. The excellence was sustained.”
Altman also coached at Marshall and Kansas State early in his career. He noted the game has changed with players earning money from name, image and likeness deals and transferring frequently.
Stubblefield has spent two stints as an assistant to Altman at Oregon. He left to become head coach at DePaul from 2021-24 before returning to the Ducks.
“Dan's left an incredible legacy here. His teams play incredibly hard and you know we're going to be really good in March when Dana Altman is your basketball coach, we're going to play and certain way and we're going to overachieve. And we'll continue to do that,” athletic director Rob Mullins said. “It will be different when you come to the gym, you're not going to hear ‘Bend your knees!’ or ‘Outside hand!’ Those things are going to change and we're all going to miss those. But you know what he's done for this program has put us in a great position to launch from.”
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