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Men's Basketball
Rebuilding basketball programs has become habit for seventh-year Creighton head basketball coach Dana Altman. The 14th head coach in Creighton's 82-year men's basketball history, Altman has guided the Bluejays to an increase in victories in each of the past five seasons, which has resulted in three straight postseason appearances for CU. Last year's team won its first nine games on its way to an overall record of 23-10 and a fourth-place finish in the Valley at 11-7. The Jays cruised through the MVC Tournament, winning all three contests to earn their second straight automatic NCAA Tournament berth. In 1998-99, Altman earned National Association of Basketball Coaches District 12 Coach of the Year honors after CU went 22-9 and made the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That year, Altman joined Creighton's E.S. Hickey and Wichita State's Gene Smithson as the only coaches in MVC history to have led their teams to improved winning percentages in five straight seasons. After four successful years as the head coach at Kansas State, Altman returned to his home state to take over a struggling Creighton program following the 1993-94 season. Altman inherited a Creighton team that posted a 7-22 ledger the year before his arrival and led the Jays to a slightly improved 7-19 record in 1994-95 before his 1995-96 squad jumped to 14-15. Altman's 1996-97 squad finished 15-15 then made another substantial jump to 18-10 and a postseason bid to the NIT in 1997-98. But making his teams better is nothing new for the 42-year-old Altman. In 11 seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach, Altman now has led his teams to either an improved overall winning percentage or victory total ten times, including the last nine years in a row. Altman is a seven-time coach of the year recipient who came to CU after compiling a 68-54 record in four seasons (1990-94) at Kansas State. During that time, Altman led the Wildcats to three straight postseason tourneys and was named the Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year after leading Kansas State to a 19-11 record and an appearance at the NCAA Tournament in 1993. Altman's association with Kansas State, however, goes back to 1986 when he started a three-year stint (1986-89) as an assistant coach on Lon Kruger's Wildcat staff. Kansas State qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons, fashioning a 64-31 overall record. In 1988, the Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional Final, tying the school record for most wins in a season by finishing the year with a 25-9 mark. As Kruger's top assistant for those three years at KSU, Altman recruited Wildcat standouts Mitch Richmond (former NBA Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game Most Valuable Player and two-time Olympic basketball team member), Charles Bledsoe, Will Scott, Fred McCoy, Jean Derouillere and Jeff Wires. Altman left Kansas State in 1989 to take his first Division I head coaching job at Marshall. In his one season in Huntington, W.V., Altman improved the Thundering Herd from a sixth-place league finish the year before his arrival to a second-place finish (15-13 overall) en route to Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors. While Altman was revitalizing the Marshall program, Kruger's Kansas State club was making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 17-15 mark. Following the season, Kruger left for the post at Florida and Altman made his return to Kansas State in the spring of 1990. Although Altman returned to a program coming off four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, his 1990-91 Wildcat squad featured just one returning starter and all of the players on his roster had combined for just eight seasons of Division I experience. Altman's rebuilding process at KSU took another unexpected turn during the summer of 1990 when impact player Askia Jones was lost for the year with a broken ankle. Despite its shortcomings in experience and the final 13-15 record, Altman's first Wildcat team was far from a pushover, losing seven Big Eight Conference games by fewer than 10 points. In his second season as head coach in Manhattan, Altman took the first step in returning KSU to its glory years by guiding another young Wildcat team to the Sweet 16 of the National Invitation Tournament and tying for sixth place in the nation's top-ranked conference. The Wildcats posted a 16-14 record against the 10th-toughest schedule in the country, according to USA Today, with 11 of their 14 losses coming at the hands of teams ranked in the Top 25 at some point during the season. In 1992-93, Altman's squad was picked to finish seventh in the Big Eight's preseason media poll, but the Wildcats surprised many and worked their way through a storybook season, including a 7-7 finish in the Big Eight Conference, just one game out of second place; their first Top 25 ranking in five seasons; a brilliant run to the Big Eight postseason tournament championship game and a sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament. For all of those accomplishments, the league's coaches honored Altman as their Big Eight Coach of the Year. In his final season (1993-94) at Kansas State, Altman coached the Wildcats to a 20-14 record, marking the third straight season he had led KSU to an improved record. Altman's team went on to a fourth-place finish in the National Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Altman's success at Kansas State followed him from his initial head coaching job at Southeast Junior College in Fairbury, Neb. His first team (1982-83) rolled to a 29-6 record and a third-place finish in the junior college national tournament. Altman was rewarded by being honored as both Region 9 and the Nebraska College Coach of the Year. In 1983, Altman accepted the head coaching position at Moberly (Mo.) Junior College, where his marvelous three-year run resulted in a staggering 94-18 record (25-9 in 1983-84; 35-5 with a third-place finish at the national tournament in 1984-85; and a 34-4 mark in 1985-86 with a sixth-place finish at nationals). The Region 16 Coach of the Year following both the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons, Altman was also a finalist for 1986 National Junior College Athletic Association Coach of the Year accolades. Altman's playing career began at Southeast Junior College in 1976. As a guard, Altman helped his team post a 22-10 mark as a freshman and a 26-5 record as a sophomore, when he also captained the club. Altman then completed his undergraduate education and playing career at Eastern New Mexico University. After earning his associate degree in business administration from Southeast in 1978, Altman graduated magna cum laude from Eastern New Mexico in 1980 with his bachelor's degree in the same field. Altman received his master of business administration degree from Western (Colo.) State in 1981, and 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 was born June 16, 1958, in Crete, Neb. He and his wife, the former Reva Phillips of Stanton, Neb., have been married 17 years and have three sons, Jordan (16), Chase (14) and Spencer (12), and one daughter, Audra (8). The Dana Altman File
PERSONAL
COLLEGE COACHING HONORS
COLLEGIATE PLAYING EXPERIENCE
COLLEGE EDUCATION
Dana Altman's Year-by-Year Coaching Ledger
Altman's Career Record vs. All Opponents
* - Based on current conference memberships |
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