Rick Pitino Signs 6-year Deal with Saint Johns

Photo by Timothy D. Easley

NEW YORK, NY (PSF) — Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino returns to the Big East as he signs a 6-year deal with Saint Johns.  Pitino, whose reputation was tainted by scandals in and outside the game, is looking to revive his coaching career by returning to a power five conference. The last time Pitino was coaching in a power five conference, he was put on administrative leave for being a part of paying $100,000 to a recruit’s family in 2017.  Though, this is not the first time Pitino has been involved breaking rules with recruits.

In 2015, a graduate assistant at Louisville by the name of Andre McGee paid “exotic dancers” to get together with players on roster and potential recruits to the program.  This scandal ultimately caused Louisville their NCAA Tournament rights in 2016 and Pitino was suspended for 5 games. 

After Pitino left Louisville, he decided to go overseas and coach Panathinaikos, a basketball club in Greece that plays in the Euro League and Greek Basket League. 

During his time in Greece, Pitino coached this team to a 16-14 record in the Euro League while winning 2 Championships in the Greek Basket League in 2 years.  Pitino also coached the Greek National Team in 2019, but left the team shortly after due to disagreements over Pitino’s coaching style. 
After his time overseas, he signed to coach Iona University in early 2020, where he has been for the past 3 years.  Pitino’s coaching successes continued at Iona, with 2 MAAC Championship Titles and 2 NCAA Tournament appearances in 3 years. 

His last year at Iona was his best as well.  Iona went 27-8 with a 17-3 conference record, winning the MAAC regular season and tournament title.  The Gaels were also seeded #13 in the NCAA Tournament, which is the best in school history.

Photo by Corey Sipkin

Pitino, who has taken three different programs to the Final Four including securing NCAA Titles with Louisville and Kentucky, now looks to turn around the Red Storm of Saint Johns who went 18-15 overall with a 7-13 conference record under Head Coach Mike Anderson.  Pitino will be Saint Johns Head Coach through 2028 and will be making up to 20 million dollars for his coaching services.