ESPN REPORT: The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball Head Coach is Being Fired Due to…
Her coaching career started at St. Ambrose University, where she led the Bees to six straight seasons of success and established them as an NAIA powerhouse. She had a 169–36 (.824) record while at St. Ambrose, where she also led the Bees to four consecutive national tournaments, including two Final Four appearances. She was awarded the NAIA Converse Coach of the Year and the No. 1 ranking for the 1990 St. Ambrose squad.
Bluder played for Drake University for ten seasons, finishing with a 187-106 (.638) record, and NAIA St. Ambrose University for six seasons, finishing with a 169-36 (.824) record. In terms of career winning percentage (.692), she is presently ranked 39th among active Division I coaches.
She is extremely dedicated to the academic achievement of her team. She was the coach of two Academic All-America Players of the Year, Tricia Wakely (1996) and Jan Jensen (1991), the current Hawkeye associate head coach. In the final USA Today/CNN Coaches’ Poll, which rated teams in the top 25, the Bulldogs as a team came in fourth for graduation rate success in 1995. A team-high eight student athletes were selected to the academic all-Big Ten team in 2004 and 2012. All of her recruited athletes have completed their degrees, and student athletes who have competed under her have a 100% job placement rate after their career.
University of Iowa Bluder was announced as the Hawkeyes’ fifth head coach on April 7, 2000, in front of a crowded news conference in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with her husband David and daughter Hannah. The Marion, Iowa native moved to Iowa following ten productive seasons at Drake University.
Bluder is in her 24th year as the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Iowa and her 40th year overall. She is the all-time winningest coach in program history. Under her leadership, the Hawkeyes have made 16 postseason trips in 17 seasons (12 NCAA and 4 WNIT), including eight invitations in the NCAA Tournament in the last ten years. Ten years in a row, Iowa has made it to the postseason—eight NCAA and two WNIT. Bluder, the dean of Big Ten coaches, has a 35-year record of 752–359 (.679). She had a 396–217 (.629) record at Iowa. She surpassed Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer (269 wins) to record the most victories of any Hawkeye women’s basketball coach with 396 at Iowa.
Bluder has won two WBCA Regional Coach of the Year awards (2001 and 2008) and three Big Ten Coach of the Year awards (2001, 2008, and 2010). In 14 of her 15 years at Iowa, she has led the Hawkeyes to a winning record, with 11 upper-division appearances in the difficult Big Ten Conference. In her 15 years, Bluder has guided Iowa to nine seasons with 20 wins, including the previous three years in a consecutively.
In 2010–11, Bluder experienced one of her best seasons as she guided Iowa to a 22–9 overall record and a 10–6 Big Ten third-place finish. The 2010–11 season saw Iowa post its greatest win–loss record since the 1995–96 campaign. Throughout the season, the Hawkeyes were ranked nationally for 14 weeks, peaking at No. 13 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 14 in the Associated Press Poll. Iowa qualified for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team for the fourth consecutive year.
The 2018–19 year that Bluder shared alongside her standout player Megan Gustafson—who would go on to play in the WNBA with the Dallas Wings—was also one of her greatest. They had a 29–7 record at the end, won the Big Ten tournament, and advanced to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. In the Postseason AP Top 25, they came in at number eight. Together with the Big Ten Championship, they also received an automatic bid to the tournament. Their best-ever record was that one.
Bluder was recognized as the Naismith College Coach of the Year on April 6, 2019.
She won 500 games, including a blowout, versus Iowa on November 25, 2023.
Career benchmarks
While leading Iowa, she has accomplished five coaching goals. She earned her 200th Division I victory during her debut season when the Hawkeyes overcame Minnesota. In 2006, she achieved her 300th Division I victory when Iowa defeated Indiana in the regular season finale. In the course of her third season, she recorded career victories No. 400 over Iowa State and No. 450 against Creighton in the WNIT opening round. Coach Bluder’s 500th career victory came on February 10, 2008, when her Hawkeyes defeated Penn State. On January 20, 2013, Coach Bluder recorded her 600th career victory when Iowa defeated Purdue.[3]
Basketball USA
During the 2015 Pan American Games, Bluder served as head coach of the U.S.A. women’s basketball team. The event took place from July 16–20, 2015, in Toronto, Canada. Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Tiffany Mitchell, three 2015 All-Americans, were on Bluder’s USA squad, which possessed a formidable lineup.[4] In the first round, the USA team defeated Brazil 75–69. In the second round, they easily defeated Dominican Republic 94–55. The USA defeated Puerto Rico 93–77 in their last preliminary round match to guarantee the top spot for the medal semifinals. After a thrilling semifinal match against Cuba, Bluder’s side prevailed 65–64 to move the United States into the gold medal game. In the title game, the USA team had an early lead against Canada of up to 11 points, but a strong third quarter gave Canada the advantage and they went on to defeat the USA women 81-73. After winning a silver medal in Toronto, Bluder and her crew headed back home.[5]
Bluder assisted in coaching the United States team that competed in the 1999 World University Games, or Universiade. Spain’s Palma de Mallorca hosted the tournament. The USA squad defeated South Africa 134–37 in their opening game. The USA squad lost the second game, 68–67, in a close contest versus Canada. The USA defeated Japan 106–66 in their subsequent match because they could not afford to lose any more games if they wanted to take home a medal. Next up, the USA played unbeaten Russia. They trailed by twelve points at the half but rallied to win 79–68. In their subsequent match against China, who had never lost, the USA trailed early but overcame the deficit to win 89–78. After defeating Brazil, the USA moved on to the semi-final and met Lithuania there. The USA won 70–49, therefore it was not a tight game. That made it possible for them to play China again in front of 18,000 fans on their home court. Despite only leading by four points at the half, the USA improved in the second half and won 87–69 to take home the gold. With 19 rebounds in the match, Ayana Walker broke the record for the World University Games. With 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, Walker led the USA squad in both scoring and rebounding.[6]
