Farleigh Dickinson men's basketball coach Tobin Anderson has been hired as the next coach at Iona following Rick Pitino's decision to leave for St. John's head coaching position.

Iona athletic director Matt Glovaski announced Anderson's hiring in a statement obtained by the Associated Press on Tuesday (March 21).

Anderson is coming off one of the biggest upsets in March Madness history having led the No. 16 seed Knights to a victory over No. 1 Purdue during the first-round of the NCAA Tournament last Friday (March 17), which was the second time a 16-seed upset a top-ranked team after UMBC's upset of Virginia in 2018.

“Iona University represents everything my family and I were looking for in a school, a basketball program and a campus atmosphere,” Anderson said via the AP. “Our goal is to build upon the tremendous tradition of Iona basketball and elevate the program to greater heights.”

Anderson spent one season with Farleigh Dickinson after nine seasons at St. Thomas Aquinas, where he went 209-62, which included winning the East Coast Conference tournament six times and the regular season conference title five times. Fairleigh Dickinson finished with a 21-16 overall (10-6 Northeast Conference) record during the 2022-23 season before being eliminated by Florida Atlantic in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday (March 19).

Matt Thomas