Jan Jensen’I Think Days Of Professional Coaching Is Coming To An End’
Jan Jensen was introduced Wednesday as the head coach of Iowa women’s basketball, the sixth in program history.
Jensen takes over after the sudden retirement announcement from Lisa Bluder this week. Jensen has been Bluder’s second-in-command for two decades in Iowa City. She has been associate head coach for 20 of Bluder’s 24 years as head Hawkeye.
I am beyond blessed. I am beyond excited. I’m just in awe that I get to stand here in this capacity today,” Jensen said Wednesday. “This city, this state, there’s a lot of people that could take this job, but I promise you nobody loves this place as much as I do.”
UI Athletics quickly named Jensen her successor on Monday. Watch her introductory press conference below.
Lisa Bluder, former Iowa head coach, passed the torch to Jan Jensen upon her retirement on May 13. Since her appointment, Jensen has been very busy navigating off-season transfers.
In addition to player recruitment, she announced the addition of both Randi Henderson and Sean Sullivan to the team as assistant coaches. She made the back-to-back announcements on her Instagram story.
Henderson was the head coach of the Washington University women’s basketball team in St. Louis. She has been there since 2017 and has recorded double-digit wins every year, leading them to four NCAA tournaments. Prior to her coaching career, she played for the Hawkeyes as a starter for three years and served as their captain.