On Monday, the Iona Gaels men’s basketball team lost their respected head coach, with Rick Pitino agreeing to a six-year contract with St. John’s. On Tuesday, Iona already hired Pitino’s replacement, landing another big-name coach.
Tobin Anderson, who is viewed as a rising star coming off a fantastic season with Fairleigh Dickinson, who recently beat No. 1 Purdue, despite being a 16th seed, is joining Iona.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Anderson has agreed to a five-year contract with Iona. It’s another big hire for Iona, bringing a well-traveled coach with 22 years of experience to the Gaels.
While Fairleigh Dickinson’s Cinderella story is now over after falling to Florida Atlantic, it’s clear their head coach put himself on the map, getting noticed not only by the millions who tune into March Madness each year but also by Iona.
Anderson led Fairleigh Dickinson to a 21-16 record this season, but he holds a career win-loss record of 414-206 while going 2-1 in Tournament play.
For Anderson, who started out coaching in Division III in 1999 before advancing to Division II in 2013, it’s been a slow and steady climb into DI play, but he proved even the top NCAA basketball division was no match for his wits. We’ll see if he can enjoy the same success with Iona.
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