Former Iona basketball head coach Tobin Anderson provided his first statement since shockingly being fired after two seasons with the Gaels. The previous head coach of Fairleigh Dickinson was the toast of college basketball after his team’s legendary tournament upset of No. 1 Purdue. The Gaels subsequently hired Anderson to replace legendary head coach Rick Pitino. While the program did not get off to an ideal start under its new head coach, it was coming off an appearance in the MAAC tournament championship game.
Nevertheless, the Gaels decided this partnership was not working and fired Anderson a few days ago. The third-year head coach at the Division-I level subsequently gave a classy statement on his dismissal over X.
— Tobin Anderson (@andersontobin) March 19, 2025
Iona basketball will look a lot different next season as it attempts to return to its glory days
Since 2012, Iona basketball has been one of the most successful mid-major programs in the country. The Gaels went on a recent run where they made the NCAA Tournament in eight out of twelve years under former head coaches Tim Cluess and Rick Pitino. This program consistently dominated the MAAC Conference and, at one point, earned an at-large bid into The Big Dance. Unfortunately, that string of dominance was not continuing under Tobin Anderson.
Under their former head coach, the Gaels went 33-34 overall and 22-18 in conference play. Those results clearly did not meet the standards this program set out when it hired Anderson two years ago. That being said, this was Anderson’s third season coaching at this level, and he had displayed a history of elevating programs in year three of past tenures. It is confusing why Iona basketball decided not to keep its former head coach for one more year, especially when considering that the team’s best player, Dejour Reaves, will now use his last season eligibility elsewhere.
Regardless, this athletic department is already being proactive in its search for a new head coach. Iona basketball is clearly looking to regain the momentum it had a few years ago and will not settle for anything less. Just a few days after this shocking announcement, several candidates are in the running to replace Tobin Anderson. If the Gaels nail this next hire, fans won’t question why the athletic department made what seems like a rash decision on their former head coach. However, until that decision is made, questions will still justifiably pop up about the overall direction of this proud program.
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