Coaching Staff 11 Straight Postseason Appearances • 10 Straight 20-Win Seasons 11 Dana Altman Dana Altman Head Coach - 15th Season at Creighton Dana Al t m a n the second straight year. The accomplishments earned The Dana Altman File enters his 15th year Altman the collegeinsider.com Jim Phelan Mid-Season at Creighton with a Coach of the Year award, the latest in a long line of hon- 282-152 re co rd, o r s. He now owns re gi o n a l, distri ct, co n fe re n ce or Personal which equates to an national coach of the year honors in 10 of his 23 years • Wife - Reva ave rage of more as a head coach. • Children - Jordan (24), Chase (22), than 20 wins per season over the past 14 years. The 2003-04 season also saw Creighton move into Spencer (20) and Audra (16) The man who was recently named a coach on the the $291 million Qwest Center Omaha in downtown • Date of Birth - June 16, 1958 M V C Me n’s Basketball Ce ntennial Team has led Omaha. The Jays averaged 12,016 fans per game in ‘03- • Hometown - Wilber, Neb. Creighton to 10 straight seasons of 20 or more wins, 04 and have ranked in the top 30 nationally in atten- not to mention 11 consecutive postseason tournament dance each of the last five years. Collegiate Coaching Honors appearances. Both marks are league records. A two-time MVC Coach of the Year (2001 and 2002), Creighton University Creighton has also won 10 or more league games Altman was a finalist for the pre s t i gious Naismith • MVC Men’s Basketball Centennial Team Coach in 12 straight seasons, another MVC mark. N ational Coach of the Year and named the NABC • 2004 Co l l e g e i n s i d e r. com Jim Phelan Mi d - Season Co a c h The dean of the Missouri Valley Conference, he District 12 and USBWA District VI Coach of the Year in of the Ye a r ranks third on the coaching victories list in the 102-year 2002-03. • 2003 Naismith National Coach of the Year Fi n a l i s t history of The Valley, trailing only Basketball Hall of Altman led that 2002-03 squad to a school-record • 2003 NABC D i s t ri ct 12 Coach of the Ye a r Fame coaches Henry Iba (486) and Eddie Hickey (337). 29 wins during a year that most consider among the • 2003 USBWA District VI Coach of the Year Altman owns a 365-219 career record in 19 years at best in Bluejay history. During that same season he also • 2002 Rawlings MVC Coach of the Year the Division I level and is 488-243 in 23 years overall as passed Arthur A. Schabinger to become the school’s • 2001 Rawlings MVC Coach of the Year a head coach. all-time winningest coach. • 1999 NABC District 12 Coach of the Year Kansas State University Altman has guided Creighton to an increase in vic- In December 2002, Altman directed the Bluejays • 1993 Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year tories in nine of the past 13 years while firmly estab- into the top 25 for the first time since 1975, climbing as Marshall University lishing the Bluejay program on the national scale. high as ninth in the coaches poll and 10th in the • 1990 Southern Conference Coach of the Year S i n ce coming to Cre i g hton, his at h l e tes have Associated Press poll. The Jays remained in the poll for Moberly (Mo.) Junior College earned five All-American honors on the court and four the final 15 weeks of the season, finishing the season • 1986 Region 16 Coach of the Year Academic All-America laurels in the classroom. Two 15th in the AP poll and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today • 1986 Finalist, NJCAA Coach of the Year p l ayers he coached at Cre i g hto n, Kyle Korver and coaches poll. • 1985 Region 16 Coach of the Year Rodney Buford, have played in the NBA, while Anthony Altman has led Creighton to 11 straight postseason Southeast (Neb.) Junior College To l l i ver re ce ntly signed a two-year deal with Sa n berths, including seven NCAA Tournaments. Along the • 1983 Neb. State College Coach of the Year Antonio after making the opening-night ro s ter fo r way, the Jays have established new school records for • 1983 Region 9 Coach of the Year Cleveland last winter. victories in a two-year (52), three-year (76) and four- Last year Altman guided a young team to a 22-11 year span (99). Creighton is one of just seven schools to Collegiate Playing Experience re co rd and the second round of the NIT. Bo o k e r win 20 or more games each of the last 10 years, an elite • Eastern New Mexico - 1978-80, Guard Woodfox was named Valley Sixth Man of the Year while list that also includes Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, P’Allen Stinnett swept MVC Newcomer and Freshman Kent State and Syracuse. • Southeast Junior College - 1976-78, Guard of the Year plaudits. The Jays beat DePaul, Nebraska, Creighton’s time in the spotlight in recent years is Saint Joseph’s, UALR and Drexel out of conference and nothing new, but rather the culmination of continued College Education would attract a Valley-record 276,000 fans to Qwest growth in the program. • Western State University - M.B.A., 1981 Center Omaha. Altman’s 2001-02 team won a share of its second • Eastern New Mexico - B.A., Business, 1980 Altman’s 2006-07 team was nationally ranked in straight MVC title for the first time in 60 years, won the • Southeast J.C. - A.A., Business, 1978 the preseason and won its sixth MVC Tournament title in nine years with a 67-61 win over #11 Southern MVC Tournament and advanced to the second round Illinois. The school finished 13th nationally by averag- of the NCAA Tournament with a double-overtime vic- ing a league-record 15,909 fans per game while also tory over No. 15 Florida. In the process, he coached an playing on TV in 28 of 33 contests. h o n o ra b l e - m e ntion Al l -Am e rican and the league’s Despite season-ending injuries to starting guards Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, and members Nate Funk and Josh Dotzler, Altman’s 2005-06 squad of the Valley’s Most-Improved and All-Bench teams. finished 20-10 and reached the final 16 of the National His 2000-01 squad tied Creighton’s then-school Inv i t ation To u rn a m e nt. Cre i g hton owned wins ove r record for wins in a season (24-8) and won its first Valley three teams that reached the Sweet 16, including a 20- regular season title since 1990-91, while the 1999-00 point victory at Final Four qualifier George Mason. That team won its first nine games on its way to an overall team finished tied for second in the MVC, which gained record of 23-10. national attention after ranking as the country’s sixth- In 1998-99, Altman earned National Association of best league. Basketball Coaches District 12 Coach of the Year honors In 2004-05 Altman helped guide a young team after CU went 22-9 and made the second round of the back to the Big Dance, thanks to an MVC Tourney title N C AA To u rn a m e nt. Th at ye a r, Altman joined v i cto r y against Mi s s o u ri St ate. The Jays won eight Cre i g hto n’s Eddie Hickey and Wichita St ate’s Ge n e straight games down the stretch before losing a 63-61 Smithson as the only coaches in MVC history to have nailbiter to eventual Elite Eight qualifier West Virginia in led their teams to improved winning percentages in the first round of the NCAA’s. five straight seasons. In 2003-04, Creighton started 12-0 (the school’s best start since 1942-43) and returned to the top 25 for 12 2008-09 Creighton Basketball Dana Altman Altman became the 15th head coach in Creighton his- tory following the 1993-94 season after four successful years as the head coach at Kansas State and a season at Marshall. Hired March 31, 1994, Altman inherited a team that posted a 7-22 ledger the year before his arrival and led the Bluejays to a slightly improved 7-19 record in 1994-95 before his 1995-96 squad jumped to 14-15. In 1996-97, Altman’s team was 15-15 and followed with another sub- stantial jump to 18-10 and a bid to the NIT in 1997-98. But making his teams better is nothing new for the 50- year-old Altman. In his 19 seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach, Altman has led his teams to either an improved overall winning percentage or victory total 15 times. Altman arrived at Creighton after compiling a 68-54 record in four seasons (1990-94) at Kansas State University. During that time, Altman led the Wildcats to three straight postseason to u rn e ys and was named the Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year after leading KSU to a 19-11 record and an appearance at the NCAA Tournament in 1993.