Longtime Iowa Women's Basketball coach Jenni Fitzgerald announces her retirement
After 24 years on the Iowa Women’s Basketball coaching staff, Special Assistant to the Head Coach Jenni Fitzgerald has announced her retirement. Fitgerald spent 32 years on staff with Lisa Bluder at Drake and Iowa, including four years as an associate head coach, 20 seasons as an assistant coach and four years as an advisor for the Hawkeyes.
“It’s been a privilege to be a part of the Hawkeye family for the past 24 years,” said Fitzgerald in a press release from Iowa. “Lisa, Jan, and I had big dreams of filling arenas and hoisting trophies when we first stepped on to campus. Because of the women that came through our program and our Hawkeye community, those dreams became our reality.”
“Retiring is bittersweet, but I know I’m one of the few people that can say they had the honor of working alongside their best friends for 32 years. I’m forever grateful for all the memories I’ve made and the people I’ve met along the way.”
Jenni Fitzgerald played her collegiate basketball at Drake University from 1986-91, earning First Team All-Gateway Conference honors as a senior. During that senior season, Jenni averaged 14.4 points, 4.8 assists and 3.3 steals per game. She was also a three-year team captain. Fitzgerald was inducted into the Iowa Girl’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
After graduating from Drake, Jenni became a graduate assistant coach at Southern Illinois University. She spent two years with the Salukis program, before returning to Drake where she joined Lisa Bluder and Jan Jensen on staff, spending eight years with the Bulldogs. In her second year at Southern Illinois, the Salukis appeared in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round, defeating Colorado in the first round.
At Iowa, Fitzgerald was a coach, a recruiter and the team’s primary strategist per the release from the Hawkeyes. Over the span of 24 years at Iowa, the Bluder, Jensen, Fitzgerald led staff made 22 postseason appearances, including 18 NCAA Tournaments, five Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights, two Final Fours and two National Championship games. They also won five Big Ten Tournament Championships, including three in a row from 2022-2024.
“I have valued working alongside Jenni the past 32 years,” said former Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder in the press release from the school. “She is an amazing strategist and coach, and I am thankful that I get to call her a friend for the rest of our lives!”
