With March Madness approaching, one veteran has landed a new job.
Lisa Bluder, the former coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes who spent four years with Caitlin Clark, will join the Big Ten Network as an analyst during the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
Bluder is one of the most experienced in coaches in college basketball history and her role as analyst will be welcomed by fans of the network.
The now 63-year-old spent 40 seasons in coaching with 24 four of them with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Her last two years included national championship games and the veteran is the winningest women’s basketball coach in Big Ten history.
During her time at the Hawkeyes, Bluder was 528-254, with five Big Ten tournament titles.
Iowa made 18 NCAA tournament appearances in Bluder’s 24 seasons, and she was a three-time Big Ten coach of the year.
“There is never an ideal time to retire, and I am sure this fall that I will miss the games, the practices, the road trips, the atmosphere, the tremendous fans and, most importantly, the players,” Bluder said at the time of her retirement.
“But my belief in the foundation of this program, knowing that success is now an unrelenting component of women’s basketball at the University of Iowa gives me comfort as I transition to become the program’s biggest champion.”
In her last season, the Hawkeyes went 34-5, which was also the last season in Iowa for Clark, the now WNBA star who broke dozens of records under Bluder.
Clark became the all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball, men’s or women’s, as a senior in 2024 as she finished with 3,951 points.
The 23-year-old was also was national player of the year the past in her last two years.
Under Bluder, Clark also became Iowa’s all-time leading scorer and the Big Ten’s all time leader in assists.
“Simply no one better at building a team,” Clark said in a post on X at the time of Bluder’s retirement,
“Thank you for believing in me more than anyone. Enjoy retirement, coach. Very much deserved.”
Bluder’s new role as an analyst for the Big Ten Network will see her work on the second round, quarterfinals and the semifinals of the tournament.
She will also commentate on her former team when Iowa opens as the No. 11 seed in the first round against 14th-seeded Wisconsin.
The annual March Madness tournament begins on Mar. 19 for the women’s bracket and will end with the final on Apr. 7.
