Oregon Coach Unloads Fiery Rant About NIT Attendance

Oregon coach Dana Altman was NOT happy Tuesday night after the Ducks lost to the Wisconsin Badgers in the NIT.

While I personally think the NIT is a joke the Badgers should have boycotted, Wisconsin traveled to Eugene to earn a 61-58 win in the third round of the backup tournament.

The game was played in a mostly empty gym in front of just a few thousands fans. Altman was so furious after the game he told Oregon to fire him if they need a better promoter.

Dana Altman unloaded a rant about Oregon fans not showing up for the NIT against Wisconsin. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)

Dana Altman unloads on Oregon fans for not showing up.

"We should have more people here. Alright. I mean, the guys played hard. 3,300 people - that's not good enough. If it's me, then get rid of me. If you need somebody else to be a promoter, to do something. But 3,300 is embarrassing. I'm not in a very good mood, you can tell," Altman said as he ripped into the fan attendance. He then immediately doubled down.

"If it's me, then make the change. Make the change. Somebody will hire me somewhere. I'll go coach junior college ball. I love junior college ball. Those guys are dogs. They want to be in the gym all the time. I love those guys. But 3,300 people? For Wisconsin? I'm disappointed. And I appreciate the people who came. The 3,300 who did come, great. I sure appreciate them. The people who have stuck with us. Again, I'm not a promoter. I'm not out in public. I don't have Twitter and all that stuff. My job is to coach," Altman further ranted.

Should Altman relax about NIT attendance?

I hate to break the news to Dana Altman, but you don't really have the right to complain about anything in the NIT.

It's the NIT. It's the JV tournament. Teams are playing for the right to be the 69th best team in America. Congratulations. Well done.

He's mad about fans not showing up? Some of us - myself mostly - don't even believe the game Tuesday night should have happened.

Dana Altman can't really be mad at people not showing up for the NIT. It's just not reasonable. If fans didn't show support for the NCAA tournament, which is played on a neutral court, that'd be one thing. Blow your lid all you want at that, but that's not the case here.

We're talking about the NIT. Again, teams are playing for the right to be the 69th best team in America. How is anyone supposed to take it seriously?

It's great if fans want to go and have a great time. No problem with that. Buy some tickets and enjoy a consolation tournament. However, unloading a rant where you suggest you should be fired is a bit over the top. Is he really surprised people didn't rush out to watch two mediocre teams play in a meaningless tournament? That's shocking to Dana Altman?

Dana Altman unloads rant about NIT attendance. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Take a deep breath. The rest of the country is focused on the NCAA Tournament, which is the only tournament that matters.