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This year's March Madness has been hectic with several notable storylines. Right at the top is No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson taking down No. 1 seed Purdue, making it just the second time in NCAA history this feat was accomplished.
The Knights were led by coach Tobin Anderson, who put himself on the national map with his impactful coaching and electric personality. A victory of this caliber, along with a complete organizational turnaround during his time at Fairleigh Dickinson, earned him an opportunity at a larger program.
This is exactly what happened following the news of Rick Pitino leaving Iona for St. John's. Iona agreed to a five-year contract with Tobin Anderson for him to coach the Gaels. The contract details have not been officially announced and are expected to remain that way due to Iona being a private university.
Anderson will certainly be seeing a notable bump in pay from the $40,000 per year he was paid at Fairleigh Dickinson, per Sportslulu. For reference, Rick Pitino made $612,000 per year at Iona, so Anderson should be looking closer to this amount. It should also be noted that Anderson was a finalist for the same job in 2020, but the program elected to go with Pitino.
Tobin Anderson's tournament win is no fluke
While the NCAA Tournament upset has brought him into the national spotlight, the success of Tobin Anderson extends far beyond this one game.
The Iowa native has 22 years of coaching experience and has worked his way up through the ranks of college basketball. He coached at the DII and DIII levels for many years before getting the opportunity at Fairleigh Dickinson.
Anderson had massive success at St. Thomas Aquinas, where he was the head coach for nine seasons and registered a 77.1% winning percentage.
He may have spent just one season at Fairleigh Dickinson, but Anderson's impact was immense. He took over a four-win program and produced a 21-16 record in his first season. Despite being the shortest team in the NCAA, the Knights built an effective style of basketball, leading themselves to success in the tournament.
While he has more than earned his stripes to get there, Anderson has a great deal of work to be done at Iona. Two of the team's top players, including MAAC Player of the Year Walter Clayton Jr., have entered the transfer portal. Betting against Anderson is not a tactic that will get you far, so expect some big things on the horizon for Iona basketball.
