Report: Rick Pitino, Iona in Discussions on New Lifetime Contract

Iona head basketball coach Rick Pitino is reportedly in negotiations with the school for a lifetime contract, according to college basketball reporter Adam Zagoria of Zags Blog. 

Pitino, who is a Naismith Hall-of-Famer, has had a storied coaching career which most notably included stops at Kentucky, Louisville, and the NBA's Celtics.

Pitino arrived at Iona in 2020 after spending two seasons coaching in Greece following his firing from Louisville for cause in 2017. The Louisville scandal involved an FBI investigation into his assistant coaches allegedly funneling money from Adidas, Louisville's apparel sponsor, to high school recruits.

Pitino has maintained his innocence and has said he did not know about the violations allegedly committed by his assistant coaches while he was the head coach of the Cardinals.

However, now a few years removed from his time at Louisville, the 69-year-old coach has made it no secret how happy he is coaching Iona at this stage of his career.

Pitino said as much after his 800th-career victory this past weekend, an 85–77 victory over Saint Peter's.

“I told the team that I'm glad I got 800 here, but I said I want to get another 200 here... This is a great job, we can make this into something really, really special,” Pitino said.

“I'm really happy, I hope I can get 1,000 here. God willing, I hope I can live long enough to see that.”

With a new lifetime contract reportedly in the works, it sounds that Pitino will have an opportunity to see that goal through if he chooses.