Rick Pitino leaving Iona to return to Big East and coach St. John's

A storm is brewing in Queens.

Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino is making the move from Iona to St. John's. Iona University confirmed Pitino's departure to the Journal News/lohud.com.

The 70-year old Pitino has agreed in principle to a six-year deal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, to become the Red Storm's newest coach on Monday, and an introductory press conference is expected to be held Tuesday at 12 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.

Pitino spent the last three seasons with the Gaels, in his return to college basketball after a Euroleague coaching stint in Greence. Iona went a combined 64-22 overall and 40-9 in regular-season conference play.

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The Gaels won back-to-back MAAC regular season titles in each of the last two years. They also won the MAAC Tournament in 2021 and 2023.

Iona's 43-year NCAA Tournament victory drought remains intact, though, as the Gaels left the Big Dance empty-handed in their two trips under Pitino.

Pitino has an all-time record of 711-290. He is one of two coaches to take three different schools to the Final Four — Providence, Kentucky and Louisville. He also won national championships in 1996 with Kentucky and at Louisville in 2013.

He was out of college basketball for three years after Louisville fired him 2017 following a recruiting scandal. As a result, the NCAA vacated 123 wins and the 2013 national championship.

Pitino coached in Greece during his three-year absence, serving as coach and team president of Panathinakos.

He made his return to college basketball in 2020. Pitino had previously stated that Iona would be the final stop in his coaching career and that being home in New York played a big role in choosing Iona.

He's also shared that he turned down several other Division I college basketball coaching offers since, but St. John's being not too far from his home on Winged Foot Golf Club led to plenty of speculation after St. John's parted ways with Mike Anderson earlier this month.

In November, five years since being fired by Louisville, Pitino was exonerated by the IARP, the NCAA's independent panel. He was cleared of any wrongdoing from the Louisville scandal, and he had been linked to rumors and other coaching job openings over the last month.

St. John's will be welcoming back Pitino to the Big East Conference, where he previously coached for Providence and Louisville.

The Red Storm went 18-15 this season. They finished 7-13 in conference play and got eliminated by eventual Big East Tournament champion Marquette in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rick Pitino leaves Iona to become St. John's basketball coach