Cluess Extension Through 2020

[iona05]

IONA ANNOUNCES CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR TIM CLUESS
Men’s basketball head coach with 118 wins in five seasons extended through 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brian Beyrer ([e-mail])

March 26, 2015

NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Iona College is pleased to announce a contract extension for men's basketball head coach Tim Cluess through the 2019-20 season.

"Coach Cluess continues to lead our men to tremendous success," said Iona College President Dr. Joseph E. Nyre. "We have always believed he is the right man for Iona basketball."

"Five straight 20-win seasons and postseason appearances has never happened in the rich history of men's basketball at Iona College" said Director of Athletics Rick Cole Jr. "Tim Cluess remains committed to Iona athletics' mission of building champions both on and off the court and we're proud to have him as our head coach."

"The Iona College community has embraced my family and I as one of their own and I thank them for it," said Cluess. "I'm appreciative of the support President Nyre, Rick Cole and our administration have given us, and I look forward to continuing to lead the men's basketball program.”

Cluess is the 12th coach in Iona history and the program’s fourth winningest coach with 118 total wins. Cluess has guided the Gaels to five years with 20 or more victories and is the only coach in program history to boast the accomplishment.

The Gaels have earned postseason appearances in each of Cluess’ five seasons following the team’s automatic bid into the National Invitation Tournament in 2015 due to its regular season championship and 17-3 mark in league play. Iona also participated in the NIT in 2014. Cluess led Iona to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013, earned a MAAC Tournament Championship in 2013 and three MAAC Regular Season Championships in 2012, 2014, and 2015. Cluess was recently named one of CollegeInsider.com’s 16 finalists for the 2014-15 Skip Prosser Man of the Year presented annually to those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who also display moral integrity off of it as well.

TIM CLUESS COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT IONA:

Record at Iona: 118-54 (.686) / five seasons
Overall NCAA Record: 216-77 (.737) / nine seasons
Career Head Coach*: 503-165 (.753) / 25 seasons
*- includes record at St. Mary’s Manhasset HS and Suffolk CC

2015 MAAC Regular Season Champion / NIT Appearance
2014 MAAC Regular Season Champion / NIT Appearance
2013 MAAC Tournament Champion / NCAA Tournament Appearance
2012 MAAC Regular Season Champion / NCAA Tournament At-Large Berth
2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Finalist



Nine All-MAAC First Team Performers
(A.J. English 2x, Mike Glover 2x, Scott Machado 2x, Sean Armand, Lamont Jones, David Laury)
Four All-MAAC Second Team Performers
(Armand, Jones, Laury, Schadrac Casimir)
One All-MAAC Third Team Performer
(Laury)
One MAAC All-Rookie Team Performer
(Casimir)
Three MAAC Players of the Year
(Machado, Jones, Laury)
One MAAC Rookie of the Year
(Casimir)
One NY Met Basketball Writers Ass’n Player of the Year
(Machado)

[tau]

Great news!

[chelseadal]

It is great news!

[hawaii bill]

Excellent, congrats to Coach. Well done!!

[jcgael]

Happy to hear this. With all the speculation going on with the coaching carousel I am really glad that we are not twisting in the wind like some programs.

[gregcrow]

Fantastic News! While I have to say that this year was the most dissapointed I have been in a long time, it's due to the high bar Coach Cluess has set. I have said this many times before, but I will not complain until we don't make the post-season - and by the way that doesn't mean I won't criticize or analyze. I'm a big fan and look forward to his continued success!

[dantef17]

Fantastic news. Congrats Coach Cluess now let's win the MAAC and make noise in NCAA'S! In Cluess I Trust

[hawaii bill]

Is 2020 when Pascall would graduate?

[iona1970]

Did they up Grasso also? If not we could lose him if a head coaching job opens

[epatrick]

Congratulations to Tim and to Iona!

[Deleted]

Great move by both Iona and Cluess. And Cluess is smart enough not to go into that situation at SJU. He's smart enough not to go into the double round robin Big East schedule without any players, no matter how much money they would have offered him. Stay at Iona. He made the smart move. (Should have said my family and ME though. Only kidding.

[thehat]

Golden Age of Iona basketball will continue!!!!!

[Cjb]

Well deserved and strategic if a Stony Brook type arena campaign is on the horizon.

Compared to all the train-wreck coaching situations around us, Iona has a Cadillac at the price of a Dodge.

Congratulations Coach Cluess.

[husker76]

Very happy for Iona and the men's basketball program. This contract extension hopefully removes any discussion or fear for a few years that Tim Cluess is leaving to go somewhere else. This move should help solidify the program and their recruiting efforts. Hopefully there is some additional compensation for Jared Grasso as part of this extension for Coach Cluess. The fact still remains that Jared Grasso will be a candidate for a head coaching position at a low-major or mid-major program or an assistant coaching position at a high major program at some point. Jared has earned that with his efforts at Iona and I look forward to him having his own program in the future. But right now I am just happy to continue to enjoy this duo moving the program forward. We have many more happy moments awaiting us during the Cluess Era.

[tiger]

Mar 26, 2015 18:13:32 GMT -5 @reksonn said:

Great move by both Iona and Cluess. And Cluess is smart enough not to go into that situation at SJU. He's smart enough not to go into the double round robin Big East schedule without any players, no matter how much money they would have offered him. Stay at Iona. He made the smart move. (Should have said my family and ME though. Only kidding.

He wasn't offered the job and if he was , I'm sure he would be gone...