"I've been so blessed": When former Iowa HC Lisa Bluder reflected on the start of her coaching career with St. Ambrose

Former Iowa coach Lisa Bluder was grateful for her first coaching stint at St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa. It became the launch pad of her successful coaching career that spanned four decades.

Bluder was interviewed in March 2023 by an Illinois-based TV station just before Iowa's Final Four meeting with South Carolina. She was asked about a throwback video showing her first few years at St. Ambrose, which was affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or the NAIA.

"The video is kind of embarrassing to be quite honest," Bluder said (Timestamp 0:20). "My players are saying my voice is so different and I say it’s from yelling at you guys all these years.

"So now, I’ve been so blessed. Honestly, I’ve been in three great places — St. Ambrose, Drake and Iowa — all in the state of Iowa."

The Appleton, Wisconsin native guided St. Ambrose to a 169-36 record en route to four straight national tournament appearances, including the NAIA Fab Four in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons

Bluder was hired by Drake in 1990 and handled the Bulldogs for 10 seasons. She was 188-105 with Drake, which reached four NCAA Tournaments. The great stints with St. Ambrose and Drake paved the way for her to coach at Iowa.

Lisa Bluder was extremely grateful to the St. Ambrose administration for allowing a 23-year-old coaching newbie to call the shots for the team. She also thanked former Iowa and Rutgers bench tactician C. Vivian Stringer for helping her learn the ropes of coaching a women's basketball squad.

"I couldn’t ask for a better place to start than St. Ambrose, to learn and to have great mentors like Coach C. Vivian Stringer," Bluder said (Timestamp 0:38).

"I’ve been at places where they are really supportive of women’s basketball, and the high school basketball has been really good in the state as well. So I’ve been incredibly blessed," she added.

Bluder spent the rest of her career with the Hawkeyes, compiling a 528-254 record. She coached Iowa to 18 NCAA Tournaments, including back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2024 with Caitlin Clark leading the attack.

After her retirement in May last year, Lisa Bluder made sporadic appearances on live television. She was an analyst for the Big Ten Network during the Big Ten Tournament in March in Indianapolis.

Lisa Bluder is proud of former Hawkeye Caitlin Clark's WNBA transition

Recently, Lisa Bluder appeared on the broadcast at the Indiana Fever's game against the Atlanta Dream. She discussed how proud she was of the way her former standout, Caitlin Clark, handled herself in the WNBA:

"Everyone knows what they're getting now, when they're facing her, and they just think that they can be physical with her and try to frustrate her. I am so proud of her for not falling into that trap because it's really easy to.

"I think if any human being was out there or getting all the hands on them all the time and getting talked to all the time, they get upset and do something they regret. I'm so proud of her keeping her composure as well as she does."

Lisa Bluder also commented on an area where Clark needs to improve in her second season. Bluder wants Clark to improve on her backdoor cuts, as this was one weakness.

"Because if you're going to face guard her, that's what you're gonna do. Or you've got to become a screener, as well," she said.

The Iowa legend had a rough time against the Dream, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds, and six assists, but will likely bounce back in due course.