Within moments of Oregon’s first berth to the Final Four since 1939, the social media posts began.
Links to what may have been the most awkward Hog Call in history with a visibly uncomfortable Dana Altman and his family. There were pictures posted of a visibly flustered Altman, conducting an interview with media a day later outside the loading dock at Bud Walton Arena.
Within 24 hours of his press conference to become Arkansas' coach, he gave the job back and returned to Creighton.
Frank Broyles, John White and Razorback Nation had egg on their face, and had to scramble to find another replacement for Stan Heath, who was fired after five seasons and consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Ten years later, Altman has Oregon on the cusp of a national championship. Arkansas is still trying to recapture the magic it had in the 1990s when it was one of the premier programs in the country under Nolan Richardson.
Under former Richardson assistant Mike Anderson, the Hogs have been to two NCAA Tournaments in six years. Arkansas hasn’t advanced to the Sweet 16 in 21 years.
In a recent Associated Press poll of the Top 100 programs of all-time, the Hogs dipped to No. 31 behind Alabama.
When Altman left the Hogs hanging, he ultimately set the program back. In the process, he helped three other programs.
After Altman returned to Creighton, it appeared he was there for good. He had retreated to Omaha in his home state in 1994 after a four-year stint at Kansas State. When he announced he was heading to Oregon in 2010, most were surprised.
That move set a wave of dominoes in motion that changed the history of programs at Creighton, Oregon and Iowa State.
Greg McDermott was struggling mightily at Iowa State at the time. He was 58-68 in his first four years in and the good players landed either were troubled or transferring. His seat was red-hot after the 2009-10 season.
When Altman left, McDermott would have walked to Omaha for the Creighton job. He had great success coaching in the Missouri Valley Conference with Northern Iowa and knew he could win at Creighton with Altman leaving the program stocked.
He also knew, he could get his son, Doug, to de-commit from his former assistant Ben Jacobson at UNI, and play for him in Omaha. The result was instant success and the younger McDermott became the most decorated player in Creighton history.
In his second season, McDermott led Creighton to a No. 12 ranking and an NCAA Tournament win.
During the 2013-14 season, the Bluejays moved to the Big East and were a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament - the highest seed in school history. Also that year, Doug McDermott, a three-time All-American, became the first Creighton player to earn national player of the year. He now plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Even without his son, McDermott has continued the success in Omaha and engineered the Bluejays to a 25-10 record this season and an NCAA Tournament berth.
When McDermott scooted out of Ames in April 2010, there was a collective sigh of relief. There would be no firing and no buyout of McDermott, but who would be the new head coach?
Former Iowa State star and Ames native Fred Hoiberg threw his hat in the ring and ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard rolled the dice.
As a result, The Mayor - as Hoiberg was known - led the Cyclones to an unprecedented run of success with a mix of transfers and talented high school players. The native son became the fastest coach in school history to win 100 games and engineered a Sweet 16 run during the 2013-14 season.
Hoiberg left ISU to coach the NBA’s Chicago Bulls in 2015, and Murray State’s Steve Prohm took over. He led the team to a Sweet 16 run in his first year, and this season got them to the second round. Between Hoiberg and Prohm, Iowa State has earned a school-record six straight NCAA Tournament berths.
Altman’s success wasn’t instantaneous, but he has built the Ducks into one of the premier programs in the nation. Oregon has won two regular season conference titles and two tournament tiles. He has also led Oregon to NCAA Tournament success with an Elite finish and No. 1 seed last year, and the Final Four this year as a No. 3 seed playing without one of its best players.
When Arkansas chose Altman, I was a big skeptical because he had been in the mid-major ranks for so long. There was that good run at Kansas State in the Big 8, but by 2007 that was a distant memory.
However, with the rebuilding job that Altman has done at Oregon and the caliber of players he has landed, it is reasonable to assume Arkansas would have been in a similar position if Altman had stayed.
Arkansas had to settle for John Pelphrey, who was fired after four seasons and a 69-59 record.
There is hope with Anderson, who guided the Hogs to the NCAA Tournament and had No. 1 seed North Carolina on the ropes before losing in the final minutes. There are a couple of stellar recruiting classes in place thanks to great in-state prospects.
However, Oregon, Creighton and Iowa State are all in much better positions, and that is thanks to Altman's change of heart.
Nate Olson is a contributor for WholeHogSports