Tobin Anderson joined the University of South Florida men’s basketball staff as the team’s special assistant to the head coach ahead of the 2024-25 season, bringing with him nearly three decades of experience as a head coach and assistant across all levels of college basketball.
Anderson comes to Tampa after spending the previous two seasons as the head coach at Iona University. During the 2024-25 season, he led the Gaels to a spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) league title game. It included an upset of No. 1 seed Quinnipiac in the semifinals to reach the championship game.
He came to Iona after a headline-making year at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he guided the No. 16-seeded Knights to an unforgettable NCAA Tournament run, including a First Four win over Texas Southern and one of the biggest upsets in tournament history—a first-round victory over No. 1 Purdue in 2023. It was just the second time in NCAA history that a No. 16 had defeated a No. 1 in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament. The 2022-23 squad finished 21-16 overall and went 10-6 in Northeast Conference play, earning the league's automatic bid. The year prior to Anderson’s arrival, FDU had finished just 4-22. The 17-win improvement is tied for the greatest single-season turnaround in NCAA Division I men's basketball history.
Before his success at FDU, Anderson spent nine seasons building a Division II powerhouse at St. Thomas Aquinas College. He turned a five-win team into a consistent national contender, compiling a 209–62 (.771) overall record, five East Coast Conference regular season titles, and six ECC tournament championships. His Spartans reached the NCAA Division II Tournament in seven straight seasons, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2017. He was a four-time ECC Coach of the Year and a five-time recipient of the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Division II Coach of the Year honor.
Earlier in his career, Anderson served as an assistant at Siena College (2011–13) and held successful head coaching roles at the Division III level with Hamilton College and Clarkson University. At Hamilton, he posted a 118–63 (.652) record, three league titles, and an NCAA Tournament appearance. At Clarkson, he engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in Division III basketball, culminating in a 19-win season and a regional title game appearance.
Anderson began his coaching career as an assistant at Clarkson and Le Moyne College. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1995, where he was a four-year starter and two-year captain, and earned his master’s degree in athletic administration from Florida State University in 1996.
Anderson, a native of Truro, Iowa, and his wife Jodi are the proud parents of Bryce and Alexa.
Tobin Anderson Coaching History
2025-Present Special Assistant to the Head Coach, University of South Florida
2023-2025 Head Coach, Iona University
2022-2023 Head Coach, Fairleigh Dickinson University
2013-2022 Head Coach, St. Thomas Aquinas College
2011-2013 Assistant Coach, Siena College
2004-2011 Head Coach, Hamilton College
1999-2004 Head Coach, Clarkson University
1997-1999 Assistant Coach, Le Moyne College
1996-1997 Assistant Coach, Clarkson University
Coaching Honors |
| 2015 |
MBWA D-II Coach of the Year
ECC Coach of the Year |
| 2016 |
MBWA D-II Coach of the Year
ECC Coach of the Year |
| 2017 |
MBWA D-II Coach of the Year |
| 2021 |
MBWA D-II Coach of the Year
ECC Coach of the Year |
| 2022 |
MBWA D-II Coach of the Year
ECC Coach of the Year |
| 2023 |
MBWA D-I Coach of the Year |
