The Iona Gaels men's basketball team represents
Iona University in
New Rochelle
New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division I competition. The school's team competes in the
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...
(MAAC) and plays home games in
Hynes Athletic Center. Iona hired
Dan Geriot on March 20, 2025. The Gaels have appeared 16 times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2023.
History
Iona University has been competing in Division I basketball since the school's inception in 1940. Their first taste of success came with the
ECAC men's basketball tournaments (essentially regional tournaments played by Division I schools that were essentially independent, with Iona being in the Metro) in 1979 and 1980, winning the two years for an autobid to the NCAA Tournament.
Iona is also one of the founding members of the
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...
, which began play in men's basketball with the 1981–82 season, having been passed over by the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
for Seton Hall in 1980.
The Gaels have compiled the most victories of any MAAC team since the founding of the conference and have won a league record fourteen MAAC tourney titles (1982, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023). They have appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, with the first two of those appearances coming as a member of the Metropolitan Conference and in 2012 as an at-large selection out of the MAAC. The Gaels have also been to 7 NITs, in 1982, 1983, 1996, 1997, 2014, 2015 and 2022. In 2011, the Gaels made it to the final game of the CIT post-season tournament, losing at home to Santa Clara. Since the 1978-79 season, the Gaels have won 20 games or more in 23 seasons.
Notable coaches with Iona W/L record
* Jim McDermott 325–252
*
Jim Valvano
James Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. Valvano had a successful coaching career with multiple schools, culminating at NC State. Whi ...
95–46
*
Pat Kennedy
Joseph Patrick Kennedy (born January 5, 1952) is an American former college basketball coach and player. He was previously the men's basketball coach at Towson University, Iona College (New York), Iona College, Florida State University, DePaul ...
124–60
*
Tim Welsh 70–22
*
Jeff Ruland 139–135
*
Kevin Willard 45–49
*
Tim Cluess 199–108
*
Rick Pitino
Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...
64–22
*
Tobin Anderson 33–34
Postseason
NCAA Tournament Results
The Gaels have appeared in 16
NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–16. Iona's only NCAA Tournament victory to date, which took place in 1980, was vacated by the NCAA due to their star center, Jeff Ruland, having signed a contract with an agent for professional representation a few months prior. Thus, NCAA record books attribute to them an 0–16 record in NCAA tournament games. The Gaels first five losses in NCAA tournament play were by a combined 11 points, including a heartbreaking buzzer-beater by Syracuse University in 1998; five teams that beat them went on to reach the Final Four and one won the championship.
* Indicates vacated by NCAA.
NIT Results
The Gaels have appeared in the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
(NIT) seven times. Their combined record is 1–7.
CIT Results
The Gaels have appeared in the
CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) one time. Their record is 3–1.
Victories Over Ranked Opponents
* Nov. 30, 1979: Iona 78, #14
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
52 (Bucker Field House)
* Feb. 21, 1980: Iona 77, #2
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
60 (
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
)
* Dec. 27, 2002: Iona 65, #22
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
56 (
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
)
* Nov. 26, 2005: Iona 89, #23
Iowa State 72 (
Ames, Iowa
Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...
)
* Nov. 25, 2021: Iona 72, #10
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
68 (HP Fieldhouse, Orlando, FL)
Gaels in the NBA
*
Richie Guerin (Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 2013)
*
Jeff Ruland (1984, 1985 All-Star Selection)
*
Steve Burtt, Sr.
*
Sean Green
*
Scott Machado
Michael Scott Machado (born June 8, 1990) is an American-Brazilian professional basketball player for Minas Clube of Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB). He played college basketball for the Iona Gaels and represents the Brazilian national team.
High ...
*
Bob Santini
*
Daniss Jenkins
References
Rick Pitino returns to college basketball as Iona coach
External links
*
{{Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball navbox