Iona coach Rick Pitino has agreed on a six-year deal to become St. John’s coach, returning to the Big East Conference with ambitions of restoring the Red Storm to national prominence, sources told ESPN on Monday.
Pitino informed his Gaels team in a meeting on Monday afternoon that he was leaving the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference squad that he led to two NCAA tournament appearances in his three seasons on the job, sources said.
St. John’s courted Pitino, 70, fervently since firing coach Mike Anderson recently, and landed him with what’s being described as a lucrative financial package.
Story with @wojespn: Rick Pitino agrees to 6-year deal with St. John’s. Press conference tomorrow at Madison Square Garden. https://t.co/HRPLSefMrt
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 20, 2023
If St John’s hires Rick Pitino, billionaire alum Mike Repole plans to get back involved helping the program financially. In the NIL era, this would be a significant development: https://t.co/fg9HxsakFL #sjubb pic.twitter.com/2RH7iZwRbx
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) March 19, 2023