OMAHA, Neb. -- Dana Altman, the all-time winningest coach in Creighton basketball history, has accepted the head men's basketball coaching job at the University of Arkansas. Altman was introduced at a 5 pm press conference in Fayetteville, Ark., Monday at Bud Walton Arena.
A recent honoree as one of 10 coaches on the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Centennial Team, Altman owned a 260-141 record in 13 years at Creighton. He led his teams to league-records with 10 straight postseason bids and nine straight 20-win seasons. His 2006-07 team finished 22-11, won its sixth State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in the past nine years, and lost an overtime game in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament to Nevada.
Under Altman's leadership, Creighton has made seven NCAA Tournaments in the past nine years. CU is one of just nine schools with nine consecutive 20-win seasons, a list that consists of Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State, Kentucky and Syracuse. The list of teams with 10 straight postseasons is also an elite group, and consists of Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Syracuse.
Creighton University Director of Athletics Bruce Rasmussen commended Altman for his efforts in restoring the Bluejay basketball program. "There's no way to measure the impact that Dana Altman has had on this community, University and on our student-athletes in the past 13 years. Coach Altman has always represented our program in a first-class manner and recruited fine young men to our University."
Altman, the 14th coach in Creighton history, was hired on March 31, 1994. Rasmussen said a national search for Altman's replacement will begin immediately.
Dana Altman's Year-by-Year Coaching Ledger
SEASON SCHOOL RECORD PCT. POSTSEASON
1994-95 Creighton University 7-19 .269 --
1995-96 Creighton University 14-15 .483 --
1996-97 Creighton University 15-15 .500 --
1997-98 Creighton University 18-10 .643 NIT
1998-99 Creighton University 22-9 .710 NCAA Tournament
1999-00 Creighton University 23-10 .697 NCAA Tournament
2000-01 Creighton University 24-8 .750 NCAA Tournament
2001-02 Creighton University 23-9 .719 NCAA Tournament
2002-03 Creighton University 29-5 .853 NCAA Tournament
2003-04 Creighton University 20-9 .690 NIT
2004-05 Creighton University 23-11 .676 NCAA Tournament
2005-06 Creighton University 20-10 .667 NIT
2006-07 Creighton University 22-11 .667 NCAA Tournament
1994-07 Creighton totals (13 seasons) 260-141 .648
7 NCAA's, 3 NIT's
18-year Division I record as a head coach 343-208 .623
8 NCAA's, 5 NIT's