Lisa Bluder lands $100,000 bonus for taking Iowa to Final Four

It was a massive win for the Iowa Hawkeyes led by head coach Lisa Bluder in the Elite Eight, sending the team to the Final Four. There, the Hawkeyes will take on the UConn Huskies as Iowa tries to win a national championship after coming up just short last season.

While a national championship is the goal for Iowa, making the Final Four is also a great accomplishment that head coach Lisa Bluder is being rewarded for, landing a $100,000 bonus for getting the Hawkeyes back to the Final Four, per Steve Berkowitz. With that, Bluder has hit $310,000 in bonuses this season.

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The benefits of making this deep run go beyond that for Bluder, though. She also has an automatic two-year contract extension and a $150,000 raise beginning next season. When combined, the extension and raise add nearly $3.7 million in value to her contract.

For Lisa Bluder and Iowa, it’s the second time in as many seasons that they’ve made the Final Four. Prior to that, Bluder had never taken Iowa past the Elite Eight.

Bluder took over the Iowa program in 2000. Prior to that, she was the head coach at Drake and at the NAIA level. Over the course of her career, Bluder has a record of 888-394. During her time at Iowa, she’s won the Big Ten regular season twice and the conference tournament five times.

Now, Lisa Bluder is trying to take the Iowa Hawkeyes to the promised land and win a national championship. However, before the Hawkeyes can focus on that, they need to focus on the Final Four where Iowa is going to play UConn. Coming into that game, Iowa is a slight 3.5-point favorite to win the game.

Lisa Bluder on Caitlin Clark: ‘She’s a magnet for fans’

On the court, Iowa has been led to back-to-back Final Four appearances by Caitlin Clark. She’s a player that Lisa Bluder has a ton of respect for and knows is a fan favorite.

“Quite honestly, everywhere we go, the average attendance increases a lot because people want to see Caitlin Clark play. So, right away, she’s a magnet for fans. Wherever we go, it is the highest crowd that they have all year long so it doesn’t surprise me at all,” Bluder said.

“What does surprise me is as many Hawk fans that are here because what I had heard before this was announced that it was already sold out and we weren’t going to get many tickets and all that. So to see so much black and gold here, they must have worked really hard to get their tickets. Again, Hawk fans are absolutely incredible.”