BALTIMORE — Iona College coach Rick Pitino on Thursday shut down rumors that Maryland was pursuing him to fill the Terps men’s basketball head coaching vacancy.
Pitino went on Twitter on Thursday morning to say he is not a candidate while reaffirming his commitment to Iona.
“The University of Maryland is one of the premier institutions of higher learning,” Pitino said. “It’s basketball program can be among the nation’s best. I hope they find the next great Gary Williams. I love coaching at Iona, and I’m totally committed to my players. It will not be me.”
Pitino’s comments come after the Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan said Maryland was “heavily pursuing” the former Louisville coach and he was “their No. 1 choice.”
Even though Pitino has a ton of baggage stemming from scandals during his time at Louisville, it’s not a surprise his name circulated for the job due to his track record for winning. After leading the Gaels to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title and an NCAA Tournament berth during his first season, Pitino has guided them to a 24-5 record while clinching the conference regular-season title. In November, Iona upset Alabama, which was ranked No. 10 in the country at the time.
Pitino has won over 800 games in his college coaching career that featured stints at Hawaii, Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and now Iona. He is the first coach to take three different schools to the NCAA Final Four and first coach to win an NCAA championship at two different schools. Pitino also has the third highest winning percentage in NCAA tournament games (.740) among all active coaches.
Iona is Pitino’s first college coaching job since he was fired from Louisville in 2017 after it was reported that an Adidas employee and consultant offered former player Brian Bowen’s father $100,000 for him to join the team. Before to the pay-for-play scandal, Louisville’s 2012 Final Four appearance and 2013 national championship were vacated due to reports that former director of basketball operations Andre McGee provided prostitutes and strippers to players and recruits for four years.
