It did not take long for Tobin Anderson to capitalize on his March Madness 2023 moment.
Anderson will be the next coach of Iona after he led Fairleigh Dickinson to a stunning 63-58 upset of Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, according to multiple reports.
Iona has finalized a five-year deal with Anderson, according to ESPN.
The Iona job opened up when Rick Pitino became the next coach of St. John’s on Monday.
FDU became the second No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with UMBC pulling off the feat against Virginia in 2018.
The 51-year-old Anderson turned FDU from a four-win team to Northeast Conference champs in his first season.
He previously coached at St. Thomas Aquinas for nine seasons.
Fairleigh Dickinson rolled past Texas Southern, 84-61, in the First Four before authoring the shocker over Purdue.
The Knights’ run ended in the Round of 32 in a hard-fought 78-70 loss to Florida Atlantic on Sunday.
Anderson got emotional in the postgame press conference when asked about his plans for the near future.
“I like to fish. I love to fish. I’m a good fisherman too,” Anderson said in the now-viral moment.
“My brother’s here, Tucker’s back there, my sister Sarah, my two siblings who I love dearly are here. My parents are not. As you know, I’ve talked about my dad and my mom passed away… But I love my two siblings.”
Pitino, 70, coached Iona for three seasons, going 64-22 and reaching two NCAA Tournaments.
Iona, located in New Rochelle, N.Y., has a history of being the class of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
The Gaels lost to UConn in the first round of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
