This is in the LSU thread but might as well have it's own, it's not the college basketball preseason until a coach suddenly retires. Following in the footsteps of Tony Bennett in 2024 (October 18) and Bruce Pearl last season (Sept. 22), Dana Altman is out at Oregon.

Oregon has officially announced Dana Altman's retirement.

Former DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield will be the Ducks' interim head coach in 2026-27.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 7, 2026

The interim is almost certainly not a candidate for the big job as he was the head coach of one of the worst teams in the history of the Big East, the 2023-24 DePaul Blue Demons, a season in which he got fired midway through it after they started 3-15.

This will be a VERY interesting job to follow in the cycle.

coaching carousal thread starts before the season even starts

Why retire at this point, less than a month before the season starts?

Is this a health issue?

bobinator said:

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Well I think both Bennett and Pearl did it to make sure the people they wanted got the job but I can't imagine that being the case here with Altman because Stubblefield should have about the same chance of landing the Oregon job as I do.

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Bob, my wife is a Duck. If you want the job, I'll have her put in a call to Phil Knight and recommend you!

Semi-interesting article...

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/dana-altman-retirement-oregon-basketball/

Quote:

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For the third straight season, a longtime sitting head coach has retired just weeks before the season opener. Oregon's Dana Altman -- the best coach in program history -- retired effective immediately Wednesday, less than 24 hours before the 68-year-old was slated to take the podium at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.

Virginia's Tony Bennett in 2024. Auburn's Bruce Pearl in 2025. Now, Altman follows suit in flying away from the Ducks in 2026.

The common grumbles about NIL (excuse me, pay-for-play) and the portal (excuse me, free agency) are staples of the conversation, like usual. Altman grew frustrated with the consistent roster turnover and the voluminous court orders, injunctions and temporary restraining orders that have exploded after the NCAA's poorly timed rollout of the new five-in-five eligibility model, sources told CBS Sports. Altman had taken a backseat in portal negotiations this spring, handing the baton to top assistant Tony Stubblefield, who is now Oregon's interim head coach. Altman being swirled with retirement murmurs was nothing new.

But let's call a spade a spade: Bennett, Pearl and now Altman all bid adieu to rosters that left much to be desired.

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If he's having trouble with NIL in Oregon, what does that say for the rest of the schools where their NIL isn't as good?

If Oregon is having basketball NIL problems that's more of an indictment on the coach than it is an indictment on Oregon.

This is going to be an interesting one. Oregon probably REALLY wants to be good at basketball, especially now that they're in the Big Ten, but it hasn't really made any kind of financial sense to consider firing Altman.

I always enjoyed watching his Creighton teams. Then I became a fan for life when he took the Arkansas job and after 24 hours decided he could not live in that state and went back to Creighton.