Petros Giannakouris/Associated Press
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) — The Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino was named the new leader of the men’s basketball program at Iona College on Saturday.
Pitino had coached at Louisville from 2001-17 before being fired in a pay-for-play scandal and had been coaching in Greece. He succeeds Tim Cluess, who resigned as Iona’s coach Friday because of health concerns. Cluess had six N.C.A.A. Tournament appearances in his 10 seasons.
“My passion in basketball started in New York and will end there at Iona College,” Pitino said in a statement released by Iona, a Catholic school in Westchester County with an undergraduate enrollment of about 3,300 students.