After NIT loss, Dana Altman reaches reckoning at lukewarm Oregon

But what really ticked off Wilber native and Oregon coach Dana Altman was the paltry home attendance for a third-round postseason game. Just 3,384 fans — or 27% of capacity in Matthew Knight Arena — showed up to cheer on the Ducks.

Once Creighton’s coach for 16 years, Altman is now in his 13th season at Oregon. At the close of a 21-15 campaign, he didn’t hold back on the criticism of his own team — “either we’re not coaching good enough (or) the players aren’t good enough” — and the general community “commitment” level of his program compared to Wisconsin.

“They’ve got their cheerleaders and their band — and we make a commitment, don't get me wrong here, but you can just see how important it is,” Altman said, alternately putting his hands up and smacking them against his thighs. “It was important to them. It was important to me.

"What the heck — we should have had more people here tonight, alright? Guys played hard, OK? Thirty-three hundred people? It’s not good enough. If it’s me, then get rid of me. If you need somebody else to be a promoter, do something, but 3,300 people is embarrassing. It really is.

The 64-year-old admitted he wasn’t in a very good mood, but a reporter noted that Oregon’s attendance has been poor much of the season — only once did it clear 10,000. Wisconsin had 10,436 fans for its second-round NIT win over Liberty. Altman noted recruits attended the Oregon’s NIT loss and more recruits were watching on TV.

“If it’s me, then make the change, make the change,” Altman said. “Somebody will hire me somewhere. I’ll go coach junior college ball again. I loved junior college ball. Those guys were dogs — they wanted to be in the gym all the time. I loved coaching them. But 3,300 people? For Wisconsin? I was disappointed.”

He said he’s not a big public figure and doesn’t have Twitter and “all the stuff.”

“God I’m so bad at promoting and doing those things,” Altman said. “But we have won 20 games for a long time and we have been in postseason 13 years in a row. And I know, hey, this is the NIT and not the NCAA, I understand that. But our guys work hard.”

Altman loaded up on a difficult non-conference schedule that included losses to Sweet 16 participants Houston, UConn and Michigan State — and lost starters to injury. He has won 70% of his games at Oregon, advancing to five Sweet 16s, two Elite Eights and one Final Four. Asked if he’d recruit prospects with “spectacle” to put fans in the seats, Altman shut down the notion.

“We’re going to get winners, we’re going to get competitors,” Altman said. “If people appreciate that, great.”