Dana Altman retires as Oregon's winningest men's basketball coach - ESPN

Dana Altman, the winningest coach in Oregon men's basketball history, is retiring after 16 seasons with the Ducks and nearly 40 years at the Division I level, the school announced Wednesday.

Altman, 68, has been the Ducks' head coach since 2010. Assistant coach Tony Stubblefield will serve as interim head coach for the upcoming season.

«I've loved every minute of coaching here, and stepping away is difficult and truly painful,» Altman said in a statement. «I love coaching, it's what I know best and what I've been fortunate enough to do for almost five decades.

»… It's been the honor of my life to coach the Ducks."

Altman's retirement has been speculated toward the end of each of the past few seasons, but he had constantly pushed back against the rumors. «I've never felt like I'm ready to quit yet,» he told ESPN last October.

Altman, who also coached at Marshall, Kansas State and Creighton during his career, retires with a 792-425 record in his 37 seasons as a Division I coach, the 15th-most wins in NCAA history and fifth highest among active coaches.

Prior to last season's 12-20 campaign, Altman had won at least 20 games in each of his 15 seasons in charge of Oregon, reaching the NCAA tournament nine times. He guided the Ducks to the Final Four in 2017 and won at least one game in all nine tournament appearances during his time at Oregon, including five trips to the Sweet 16.

Altman won four Pac-12 regular-season championships and four Pac-12 tournament titles.

«Dana built a program at Oregon to a level that very few coaches build anywhere,» Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said. «Winning 382 games over 16 years, including making nine NCAA tournaments and a Final Four, is an incredible track record. But the record