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Iowa Women's Basketball Coach Lisa Bluder Announces Retirement

Her assistant coach Jan Jensen will replace her this upcoming season.

Madison Williams

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder takes questions before practice for the NCAA Women's Final Four.
Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder takes questions before practice for the NCAA Women's Final Four. / Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA
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Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder announced her retirement from the program on Monday after 24 years in Iowa City.

She retires as the winningest coach in Iowa women's basketball history thanks to her 884 wins. She's a three-time Coach of the Year, with two consecutive NCAA final appearances to end her coaching career.

Bluder penned a retirement statement on the Hawkeyes' website, detailing what made her come to the decision to retire now. A lot of it had to do with how successful and exciting the 2023–24 season was.

"It has been the honor of my career to be a part of the Iowa Hawkeye family, and to lead a women’s basketball program filled with so many talented and remarkable young women, who have gone on to do great things in their careers and, more importantly, in their lives," Bluder wrote. "There is no denying that this past season was incredible for so many reasons, and we could not have accomplished our achievements without all of you."

Caitlin Clark, who played under Bluder's leadership the last four seasons, posted a heartfelt message to her now former coach shortly after the news dropped.

"Simply no one better at building a team…" Clark tweeted. "Thank you for believing in me more than anyone. Enjoy retirement, coach. Very much deserved."

The Hawkeyes announced that Jan Jensen will be Bluder's replacement. Jensen was an assistant coach under Bluder for all 24 previous seasons.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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