Tobin Anderson. Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Tobin Anderson completes whirlwind year by joining Iona

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 3/21/23

Tobin Anderson has agreed to a five-year deal to join the Iona Gaels men's basketball team as their next head coach.

The move completes a whirlwind of a year for Anderson.

Last year, Tobin Anderson was coaching at D-II St. Thomas Aquinas.

On Friday, he coached Fairleigh Dickinson to an upset win over 1-seed Purdue.

Now, Tobin Anderson has accepted the head coaching job at Iona, per @JonRothstein. pic.twitter.com/ZSGsfjIF6o
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 21, 2023

Sources: Iona has finalized a five-year deal to make FDU’s Tobin Anderson the school’s next coach. Anderson brings 22 years of head coaching experience and led No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson to the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history by beating No. 1 Purdue last week. pic.twitter.com/awDU0n14sf
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 21, 2023

BREAKING: FDU coach Tobin Anderson is informing his players right now that he is taking the Iona job.

"It's obviously hard to leave FDU after what we just did, but this is an opportunity to go to a place that can be an east coast power," Anderson told @stadium.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 21, 2023

Anderson takes over the Gaels program after Hall-of-Famer Rick Pitino switched gears Monday and took the job at St. John's. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Anderson was a finalist for the Iona gig in 2020, when Pitino was hired.

The 51-year-old coach guided Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) to a 21-16 record in his only season with the Knights and led them to a stunning upset of No. 1 Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was just the second time in tournament history that a No. 16 seed defeated a No. 1 seed.

Welcome to #GaelNation, Tobin Anderson!

We are excited to announce the appointment of @andersontobin as the 15th head coach in #Iona men's basketball history!#MAACHoops @ionauniversity @IonaGaels

: https://t.co/o1xQKnajcY pic.twitter.com/8d7SU9Jhwv
— Iona Men’s Basketball (@IonaGaelsMBB) March 21, 2023

Aside from his one season with FDU (in Hackensack, N.J.) Anderson has spent his entire coaching career in New York at the Division II and Division III levels. He started with two seasons as an assistant coach with Clarkson University in 1996 and was then an assistant at Le Moyne College for two years beginning in 1997.

His first lead gig was back with Clarkson from 1999 to 2004, before taking over as Hamilton College's head coach from 2004-11. Anderson served as an assistant at Siena College from 2011-13 before heading to St. Thomas Aquinas.

His new team earned a No. 13 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament but fell to No. 4 UConn last week.

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