Oregon's Dana Altman Retires Less Than 1 Month Before Start of CBB Season

Less than a month before the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season, Oregon is already dealing with a tumultuous situation after longtime head coach Dana Altman announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Assistant coach Tony Stubblefield will take over as interim head coach.

The Field of 68 first reported the news.

"I've loved every minute of coaching here, and stepping away is difficult and truly painful," Altman said in a statement announcing his retirement. "I love coaching, it's what I know best and what I've been fortunate enough to do for almost five decades. I'm going to miss my coaches, my players and our incredible fans more than I can express. But I know this is the right thing to do at this time."

Altman had coached at Oregon since 2010, establishing the longtime football school as a basketball powerhouse. In 16 seasons at the helm, he led the Ducks to 15 straight 20-win campaigns, with the streak coming to an end with a 12-20 finish in 2025-26. With a record of 382–182, Altman is the winningest head coach in program history.

Oregon earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament nine times under Altman's direction, reaching the Final Four for the second time in program history in 2017. The Ducks also won four Pac-12 regular-season titles and four conference tournament championships during Altman's tenure.

Before his run at Oregon, Altman served as head coach at Marshall (1989-90), Kansas State (1990-94) and Creighton (1994-2010). He had a career record of 792–425 and earned a total of seven Coach of the Year awards across four different conferences.

Stubblefield had originally joined Oregon's coaching staff in Altman's first year in 2010, and he remained a fixture on the bench until 2021. He accepted a head coaching position at DePaul, compiling a 28–54 record over three seasons before returning to Altman's staff with the Ducks in 2024.

Without Altman leading the way, Oregon could need some time to find its footing during the 2026-27 season before eyeing a potential return to the NCAA Tournament.