Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder was already a legend in her own right heading into this season. She's been the head coach at Iowa since 2000 and has made the NCAA Tournament 18 times, including taking the Hawkeyes to the Final Four in the past two seasons.
Last season, Iowa lost to LSU, 102-85, in the women's national championship. Bluder and the Hawkeyes got revenge on LSU this past weekend in the Elite Eight, though, beating the Tigers, 94-87, to advance to play UConn in the Final Four.
The national championship is obviously the goal for Bluder and Iowa, and with superstar Caitlin Clark in their corner, they just may achieve it, but its worth noting that this Final Four run has already been super lucrative for the head coach. Just for making it to the last four standing, she's earned a cool $100,000 bonus.
Iowa advances to NCAA women's Final Four with a win over LSU. This will give Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder a $100,000 bonus.
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) April 2, 2024
In fact, winning has been lucrative for Bluder all season. To this point, she's made $310,000 in bonuses this season, according to Berkowitz, and the Final Four berth triggered clauses in her contract that will give her a $150,000 raise at the beginning of next season as well as an automatic two-year contract extension.
By bringing Iowa all the way back to the Final Four, head coach Lisa Bluder has earned:
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 2, 2024
• $300,000+ in bonuses this season
• A $150,000 raise, beginning next season
• A two-year automatic contract extension pic.twitter.com/9K67jPzPCE
Bluder would earn another $100,000 bonus by winning the national championship, which is the one feat that she has yet to accomplish in her illustrious career.
Again, with Clark (32 points, seven rebounds, nine assists per game) on her side, it's a real possibility.
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