MARCH MADNESS
What is Lisa Bluder’s salary? How much money does the Iowa head coach make?
Ahead of today’s National Championship Game, we profile Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Bluder, who has been in charge for almost a quarter of a century.
Now in her 24th season in charge of the Hawkeyes, Lisa Bluder is the winningest coach in the history of Iowa’s women’s basketball programme - and is on the cusp of guiding the team to its first ever NCAA championship.
How much is Bluder paid as Iowa coach?
Bluder is widely reported to be on a $1.4 million annual salary as the Hawkeyes’ head coach.
Per USA Today, that makes the 62-year-old the eighth-highest-paid coach in women’s college basketball. The LSU Tigers’ Kim Mulkey boasts the top salary in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Division I, with an estimated $3.15m annual pay packet. Bluder’s salary is also less than half as large as her men’s counterpart at Iowa, Fran McCaffery, who earns a reported $3.3m.
What is Bluder’s record as Hawkeyes coach?
Appointed as Hawkeyes boss in April 2000, Bluder has led Iowa to five Big Ten Conference championships - including three in the last three years - and is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year.
In 2014, Bluder overtook C. Vivian Stringer’s record wins tally as Iowa coach, when she chalked up the 270th victory of her tenure. It’s a total that she has almost doubled in the decade since then. According to her profile on the Hawkeyes’ official website, she now has a 494-249 record on the Iowans’ bench.
Under Bluder, the Hawkeyes have qualified for the NCAA tournament 18 times, have made it to at least the Sweet 16 stage on five occasions, and have two Final Four appearances to their name.
Both times Bluder has steered Iowa to the semi-finals, they have progressed to the National Championship Game: this weekend, she leads her team into its second straight NCAA title decider, as the Hawkeyes bid to banish the memories of their defeat to Mulkey’s LSU in the 2023 final.
Led by back-to-back AP Player of the Year Caitlin Clark, Iowa sealed their 2024 National Championship berth by edging the UConn Huskies 71-69 in Friday’s second semi-final.
2024 National Championship Game: when, where, how to watch?
The Iowa Hawkeyes take on the South Carolina Gamecocks today, Sunday 7 April 2024, with tip-off at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, scheduled for 3pm ET/12 noon PT.
TV viewers in the US can watch South Carolina vs Iowa on ABC, and can stream the action on fuboTV.
Enjoy the Gamecocks vs the Hawkeyes on fuboTV, which offers new users a free trial.
You’ll also have the option of following live-text coverage of the National Championship Game, right here at AS USA. Dane Arlauckas will be building up to the clash from about an hour ahead of tip-off, before talking you through the action in Cleveland.
What is South Carolina’s NCAA tournament record?
While the Hawkeyes are chasing a maiden NCAA championship, the Gamecocks are bidding for their third NCAA title. A team appearing in the Final Four for the fourth year in a row, South Carolina won March Madness in 2017 and 2022.