Dana Altman Retires From Oregon 8 Wins Short of 800

Photo: GoDucks.com / Oregon Athletics. Official Dana Altman photo, Oregon men's basketball.

Dana Altman is retiring as Oregon's head coach, effective immediately, a source told Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 on Wednesday. ESPN's Pete Thamel confirmed it minutes later, and Oregon made it official later that day. The 68-year-old walks away after 16 seasons with 382 wins in Eugene, the most in program history, and a 792-425 Division I record that sits eight wins short of 800.

Oregon's own end-of-season notes said Altman would enter 2026-27 needing those eight to become the 15th coach ever to reach 800. He leaves with the number unfinished, weeks before the Ducks were set to open a season with a roster he rebuilt from scratch in the spring.

Last season ended at 12-20 and 5-15 in the Big Ten, the first time in his 16 years that Oregon failed to win 20 games, and it closed with a 70-60 loss to Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament opener. Retirement talk followed him all winter. In February he answered it head on: "This is a big down, but I still like coaching, still want to coach. I still enjoy going to the gym every day." Oregon spent the spring acting on that answer. Eight transfers came in, including Jasper Johnson from Kentucky, Dwayne Aristode from Arizona, Taylor Bol Bowen from Florida State and Alabama, and Jerry Easter II from USC, plus freshmen Tajh Ariza and Seven Spurlock. Sean Stewart, Luke Johnson and Rian Gonzales are the holdovers. Every one of those portal commitments was a bet on Altman running the bench in November.

Somebody else now has to make those pieces fit. Altman's best Oregon teams were known for switching between man and matchup zone. Oregon named Tony Stubblefield, a longtime Altman assistant and former DePaul head coach, interim head coach for 2026-27, with a national search to follow after the season.

Altman took Oregon to nine NCAA Tournaments, and the Ducks won at least one game in all nine. He ran off five straight bids from 2013 to 2017, a first in school history. He reached five Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights. His 2017 Final Four group went 33-6, won a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title, and beat No. 1 seed Kansas 74-60 in Kansas City to reach Oregon's first Final Four in 78 years. Dillon Brooks, Tyler Dorsey and Jordan Bell gave that roster its edge.

He kept winning in March away from the national spotlight too. Oregon won four Pac-12 Tournament titles under him, in 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2024, and he became the winningest coach in that tournament's history. Before Eugene there were 16 seasons at Creighton, four at Kansas State and one at Marshall. He was the 2013 national coach of the year and won coach of the year honors in four different conferences.

The Big Ten years were rougher. Last year's injuries to Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle left Oregon with only two players who appeared in all 32 games. After the Maryland loss, Altman blamed injuries and "poor decisions that I made in recruiting and not getting enough experience." The spring rebuild was his fix for that, and he will not coach a game of it.

Stubblefield now has to keep all eight transfers in Eugene and get through a season before Oregon starts a national search for its first new head coach since 2010.

Sources

• Oregon Athletics: Dana Altman Announces Retirement as Oregon Men's Basketball Coach. Oct. 7, 2026. Retirement effective immediately; Tony Stubblefield, 13 seasons on Altman's Oregon staff and DePaul head coach from 2021-24, named interim head coach for 2026-27; national search after the season.
• Jeff Goodman on X. Oct. 7, 2026, 11:44 a.m. CT. Altman decided to retire.
• The Field of 68 on X. Oct. 7, 2026, 11:46 a.m. CT. Altman retiring effective immediately.
• Pete Thamel, ESPN, on X. Oct. 7, 2026, 11:48 a.m. CT. Source confirms to ESPN.
• Dana Altman coach bio (GoDucks.com). Oregon record, NCAA Tournament history, Pac-12 Tournament titles, coaching honors, 2025-26 injuries. Also Oregon's 2025-26 end-of-season notes, 2026-27 roster and June 2026 transfer release.
• Dana Altman coaching record (Sports-Reference). 792-425 Division I record; Creighton, Kansas State and Marshall stops.
• The Oregonian/OregonLive: Oregon 'fully committed' to Dana Altman despite worst season in tenure. Feb. 25, 2026. Altman's "This is a big down" quote.
• Ducks Digest (SI): Dana Altman speaks candidly after Big Ten Tournament loss. Charlie Viehl, March 10, 2026. 70-60 loss to Maryland; Altman on injuries, recruiting and experience.