Sights and sounds from Lisa Bluder’s Iowa retirement ceremony

“I am just looking at all of these great women; that’s what I am so proud of, and what they’ve become, and all of their kids running around here,” she told The Next. “I hope that we moved the needle of women’s basketball forward nationally, attention-wise and publicity-wise, but really, it is the women that come back.”

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Bluder retired in May after 40 years as a college head coach – six at St. Ambrose, 10 at Drake, and the last 24 at Iowa. She amassed 884 career wins, retiring as Iowa’s winningest coach with a record of 528-254 since 2000, and the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten history with a conference record of 262-145.

Recently named a nominee for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, Bluder currently has three former players active in the WNBA – Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever), Megan Gustafson (Las Vegas Aces) and Kate Martin (Golden State Valkyries).

“You’re like a proud mom when they go out and do great things and they represent themselves so well,” she said.

But she is just as proud of all of her former players, whether they have gone on to become doctors, business women or coaches.

“It’s so fun to see that and think maybe you’re just some small part of that,” she said. “I think basketball is one of the best classrooms to teach life lessons. And I think they learn so many life lessons from participating on the team like the Iowa Hawkeyes that they are taking with them and helping them be successful.” 

Samantha Logic, an All-American guard for Iowa who was drafted by the Atlanta Dream in the first round (10th) of the 2015 WNBA Draft, was on hand Sunday to celebrate her college coach. 

“She is a mother figure to everyone that has come here. She cares about you as a person and not just a player,” Logic told The Next. “She continues to teach you life lessons outside of basketball, whether it’s something small like bringing a pen and paper to any meeting you go to, or you standing up for yourself when you are in big situations or in boardrooms or wherever you need to. She teaches you to advocate for yourself.” 

Gustafson, who was named National Player of the Year in 2019, also attended Alumni Day and Bluder’s ceremony Sunday – the first time she has attended a game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since her jersey retirement ceremony on Jan. 26, 2019. In between signing countless autographs and taking selfies, she gave an on-court interview, telling the sold-out crowd how  Bluder has influenced not only her career, but her life. 

 “One of the first things I remember when she was recruiting me is that she makes better people better players. That really stuck with me during my recruiting process,” Gustafson said. “It really shows the culture that she grew each and every year. To see where the program is now, it is all because of Coach Bluder and the people that she chooses. She’s just a great person. She’s given me so many amazing life lessons that I can take with me forever.” 

In a video shown during the halftime recognition, Clark, who was unable to attend Sunday’s ceremony, spoke of Bluder’s influence. 

“She pushed me to be better every single day. Whether that was as a person, whether that was as a leader, whether that was as a basketball player. And that’s something I’m very, very grateful for,” Clark said. “I think it really summarizes how much she cares for us, not for four years but for the rest of our lives.

“This is a moment she always deserved in her career – to play in front of sold-out crowds and was always something she fought for and she knew one day would finally come around. For everybody who has been a part of her journey to see her enjoy that…her impact is going to last far beyond her standing on the sideline. Her legacy will be even greater than that.” 

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Moving the needle

Between coaching the phenom Clark, arranging a 2023 pre-season game in Kinnick Stadium to break the women’s basketball attendance record and selling out not only home games but stadiums across the country, Bluder is often credited with helping to “move the needle” and “change the game.” 

Now with Clark making waves in the WNBA, leaving the Hawkeyes with a mixture of up-and-coming veterans and wide-eyed freshman, Bluder’s influence is still alive and well at Iowa. 

For the second straight season, the Iowa women’s program sold out the nearly 15,000-seat  Carver-Hawkeye Arena. And the enthusiasm was on full display Sunday against an undefeated Top 10 Maryland team.

Despite their team trailing by as many as 25 points in the second quarter, Hawkeye fans were loud and engaged throughout the entire game as the Hawkeyes came back in the second half to pull within five points. Despite the comeback, Iowa was unable to overcome the deficit, losing 74-66.    

After the game in a press conference with reporters, an emotional Jan Jensen – who took over as Iowa’s head coach in May after 24 years as Bluder’s assistant – spoke about her mentor and friend’s influence. 

“It’s why I’m here…it’s why the crowd is here. She moved the needle, changed a lot of people’s lives, changed a lot of people’s careers,” Jensen said, fighting back tears. “What I think is the coolest thing is so often, in every profession, we keep chasing what everybody tells us is the ultimate success…The way she coached, how she coached, I got to see her, front row seat for most of her career. Humble. Understood the mission, the mission you want to win.”

“But, what I really respected is she went out on her terms and I think she showed people how to be a champion, unfortunately without the ultimate,” she added. “I think how she handled the first Final Four and all the shenanigans around it in a split second, all the questions. I’ll never forget that. I will never forget her speech she delivered after we lost to South Carolina last year. Class. Leader. Friend.”

Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese, an Iowa native who still has family in the Cedar Rapids area, spoke about the atmosphere Bluder built in her home state.  

“I love it…Growing up here and coming to camp here in Carver and just seeing where the game has gone,” she said. “You can see the success, obviously, that Iowa had with their back-to-back Final Four runs and Caitlin, and then just to continue. This is who the Midwest is. This is who Iowa is.”

“They [fans] never left early [during Sunday’s loss to Maryland]. They were there through the whole time. They’re a massive X factor. This is a really hard place to come in and play, and it used to not be that way,” she added. “So, it says a lot about Lisa; really happy for her and her retirement. She created this and they haven’t missed a beat with Jan and rightly so, with her by her side for all those years.”

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Enjoying retirement

It has been an adjustment for Bluder to sit in the stands at Hawkeye games, not as a coach, but as a fan. 

“At first it felt like I was in a dream. You know how you have those dreams where you can’t get to class on time? But now, it feels good,” she told The Next. 

She isn’t just resting on her laurels though with all of her “free time.” Since retiring, she has joined a few pickleball leagues, attends all of her son’s Grinnell College basketball games, helps her youngest daughter plan her upcoming wedding and her oldest daughter move to Georgia — she was hired by the Atlanta Hawks — and has moved both her parents and her mother-in-law to independent living. 

And, of course, she makes it to as many Iowa women’s games as she can in the sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

“It makes me so happy,” she said. “It just shows you the Hawkeye fans; they fell in love with the team, they fell in love with the style. It wasn’t just one person like Caitlin. It didn’t matter if I was the coach or if Jan was the coach. And I love that about Iowa Hawkeye fans.”