Iowa women’s basketball assistant coach Jenni Fitzgerald announces retirement
The offseason of change continues in Iowa City.
Longtime Iowa women’s basketball assistant coach Jenni Fitzgerald announced that she is retiring after 24 years with the Hawkeyes’ program. During her run with the Hawkeyes, Fitzgerald served four years as an associate head coach, 20 seasons as an assistant coach, and four seasons as an advisor.
Fitzgerald also worked with former Hawkeye head coach Lisa Bluder and new Iowa head coach Jan Jensen at Drake. In all, she spent 32 seasons as a member of Bluder’s respective staffs.
Alongside Bluder and Jensen, Fitzgerald helped direct Iowa to 18 NCAA Tournaments, five Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights, two Final Fours and a pair of national championship game appearances.
The Hawkeyes also won five Big Ten Tournament championships, including each of the past three. Iowa also won two Big Ten regular season championships.
— Jenni Fitzgerald (@jenfitz21) May 22, 2024
“It’s been a privilege to be a part of the Hawkeye family for the past 24 years. 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,” Fitzgerald said in a statement.
Primarily responsible for Iowa’s guards, Fitzgerald coached 17 players to a total of 37 all-Big Ten honors, including 15 first-team All-Big Ten selections. Fitzgerald coached eight Hawkeye guards that made the WNBA.
That list includes Cara Consuegra, Lindsey Meder, Crystal Smith, Kachine Alexander, Sam Logic, Kathleen Doyle, Kate Martin and Caitlin Clark.
Fitzgerald was a 1991 graduate of Drake where she was a starting point guard, a three-year captain and a first-team all-conference selection as a senior.
She was named Miss Iowa Basketball and the state’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1986 at North Scott High School. In 1995, Fitzgerald was inducted into the Iowa Girls Basketball Hall of Fame.
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