New Iowa Basketball Coach in ‘Perfect Scenario’ Despite Caitlin Clark’s Exit

Getty Caitlin Clark and former Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder react during a November 16, 2023 game.

On May 13, longtime Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball head coach Lisa Bluder announced her retirement, after 24 seasons spent at Iowa. 

Bluder is being replaced by Jan Jensen, who has been an assistant coach at Iowa for the past 20 years. 

A May 29 article from The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings shares insights about how Jensen sees the coaching scenario she just inherited. 

“Jensen sees this situation as the perfect scenario for her as a first-time head coach,” Jennings wrote. “She takes over a program with enough cohesion in its coaching staff and basketball philosophy for players to still feel comfortable. (The Hawkeyes didn’t lose any players to the portal.)

“Jensen also inherits a program with enough history and recent success to negate a need to recreate the wheel. Yet, as with any new coach, there are areas to improve and change to make Iowa distinctively hers,” Jennings continued.

“The template we have here,” Jensen said, “it’s pretty doggone good.”

Elsewhere in the article, Jensen noted how Iowa legend Caitlin Clark’s fame will continue to influence her team.

“It’s great timing, because now kids in California, they’re definitely watching Iowa and saying, ‘Oh, wow, who’s this team from Iowa? Who’s this player?’,” Jensen said, referring to Clark. “And then they’re seeing how we play. We’ve been able to recruit farther, but we’re certainly not going to abandon a formula that’s worked so well for us.”

Jan Jensen’s Head Coaching Introduction at Iowa

Jan Jensen played college basketball for Coach Bluder at Drake University, a private school in Des Moines, Iowa. She earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations in 1991, followed by a master’s degree in higher education in 1996, per Iowa’s team website.

Jensen currently ranks fourth on Drake’s all-time scoring list, sixth in field goal percentage, and eighth in rebounds. She is also one of only two Drake players to have her number retired in Drake’s Knapp Center. 

Jansen began her coaching career at Drake in 1993, as an assistant to Coach Bluder. After winning four MVC Tournament and three regular season championships (1997, 1998, 2000) there, her and Bluder left Drake for Iowa, where they’ve been since April 2000.

During her introductory press conference for Iowa on May 15, Jensen said, “I know there’s a lot of people who could take this job. But I promise you, nobody loves this place as much as I do.”

“It is not lost on me that I’ve gotten to have my dream job at a place that I love,” Jensen continued. “And now I get to have my dream title. Are you kidding me?”

Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Jersey Retirement

On April 10, Iowa announced that they would be retiring Caitlin Clark’s #22 jersey. 

That same day, Clark addressed more than 7,000 fans in attendance during an end-of-season celebration at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

“I would say you’ve all inspired me as much as I inspired you,” Clark said, per an X post from the Des Moines Register‘s Tyler Tachman. “And you allowed me to live out my dream every single day, and for that, I’m forever thankful.”

When Clark was asked what it feels like knowing that nobody will wear #22 at Iowa again, she said, “It’s super incredible, something I’m very thankful for.

“There’s been a lot of good 22’s who have come before me and played for this program,” Clark added. “Whether it was Kathleen Doyle or Sam Logic. That number holds a lot of weight, far beyond me. I’m really grateful, and it will be a special day when it happens.”