Iowa women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder announced Monday afternoon she is retiring.
Bluder issued a statement saying she had a range of emotions as she made the decision to step down after leading the Hawkeyes for 24 memorable years. Bluder says she met with players and coaches following the season and after taking some time away found that it was clear she is ready to step aside. Bluder, who is 63, retires after leading led Iowa to back to back runner up finishes in the NCAA tournament with superstar Caitlin Clark.
Bluder’s Hawkeye teams made the NCAA tournament 18 times. The team won the Big Ten tournament four times and won the league’s regular season title in 2008 and 2022.
Bluder’s long-time assistant Jan Jensen was named Iowa’s head coach shortly after the University of Iowa announced Bluder’s retirement.
Bluder and Jensen were stand-out players in high school and in college. Bluder played at UNI before coaching at St. Ambrose. Bluder took over during Jensen’s senior year at Drake. It was the year Jensen led the nation in scoring. Jensen played professional basketball in Europe for a season before returning to join Bluder’s coaching staff at Drake. Bluder brought Jensen with after she took the head coaching job at Iowa in 2000, and the two have coached together for 32 seasons.
