Every March, college basketball fans come together for the most chaotic and exciting tournament in the United States. They flip through channels, go to sports bars, and check their brackets, all in hopes of seeing a school they just learned existed a few hours ago upset a “Blue Blood.” March Madness is where someone can go from no one to a legend in less than a month. However, following a Cinderella run, where do these legends go?
Following a Cinderella run, most players’, schools’, and coaches’ stories of stardom end there. However, while the book closes, life goes on for the people involved. In the modern era of college athletics, players transfer, and coaches are hired by other schools. Leaving these fairytales behind, which coaches in recent memory sold their story and which schools fell short buying it?
Shaheen Holloway and Seton Hall
In 2022, the world learned three names: Doug Edert, Saint Peter’s University Peacocks, and head coach Shaheen Holloway. The Peacocks entered the tournament as a No. 15 seed and faced off against the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats. The game went into overtime, and the Peacocks pulled away from the Wildcats to secure the upset. Then they made it to the second weekend with an upset over No. 7 seed Murray State, and then became the first No. 15 seed to make it all the way to the Elite 8. Unfortunately, their story ended here as they lost to No. 8 seed North Carolina.
Following the run, two parties profited: Shaheen Holloway and Saint Peter’s University. Holloway was rewarded for his Cinderella run with a six-year contract worth $2.4 million annually from his alma mater, Seton Hall University Pirates. Seton Hall believed they found their guy in a proven March Madness coach. However, as the team reaches the end of their third season under Holloway, they sit dead last in the Big East, only winning two conference games. Furthermore, the team has gone 49-51 under Holloway, with their most successful season ending as NIT Champions in the 2023-24 season.
Holloway and Seton Hall University were supposed to be a match made in heaven. An alumnus who was briefly an assistant with the school. Then left and blazed a trail through March Madness to then return to his former school. Optimism seemed to be rising after an NIT championship. However, this season, the Pirates sit dead last in the Big East. If they do not make a run in the Big East tournament, then they will finish with their lowest win total since the 1982-83 season.
Tobin Anderson and Iona
Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) and Tobin Anderson made the NCAA tournament in the 2022-23 season due to a technicality. The Northeast Conference Champions (NEC) of that year was Merrimack University. However, due to an NCAA rule, the school was deemed to be in a transition period and was therefore ineligible. This put conference runner-up Fairleigh Dickinson in the spot to represent the NEC in the NCAA tournament.
Similar to Saint Peter’s University, no one knew of this school until the tourney and originally had no plan on remembering the name. The team matched up against Texas Southern in the First Four to decide who would play 1-seed Purdue. FDU came out on top, and the stage was set for the team to play the Naismith Player of the Year, Zach Edey. No one was ready for what would happen next.
FDU became the second No. 16 seed ever to beat a No. 1 seed.
However, the fame was short-lived as they would lose to Florida Atlantic in the Round of 32.
Following the win, however, Tobin Anderson parlayed the win into a promotion as he signed a five-year contract to become head coach of the Iona University Gaels. Anderson would have big shoes to fill, replacing Rick Pitino, who was hired by Saint John’s University. Up to this point, he has not come close to replicating the success of Pitino or his historic day in March 2023.
Under Anderson, the Gaels have been a middle-of-the-pack team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In both seasons so far, the team has also had losing records.
Tobin Anderson proved to the world that schools will take chances on these coaches. Schools hope coaches can replicate that success. However, in the case of Anderson, that currently seems unlikely.
Kevin Keatts and North Carolina State
Until the ACC tournament in 2024, Kevin Keatts had lost his job. The NC State Wolfpack entered the ACC Tournament as the No. 10 seed. Expectations were near zero, and they would have to win the conference to make the NCAA tournament. However, when the team’s back slammed against the wall, they bounced back and pulled off miracle after miracle. A pure representation of NC State’s tournament run was a buzzer-beater by Michael O’ Connell to send the game to overtime against Virginia in the semifinal. The team went on to beat the top team in the ACC and rival North Carolina to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament. However, how much luck did the team have left following that Cinderella run?
Turns out they had quite a lot left.
The Wolfpack came into the tournament and continued to replicate their ACC tournament success. They entered as the No. 11 seed in the south region and knocked off No. 6 seed Texas Tech, No. 13 seed Oakland, No. 2 seed Marquette, and No. 4 seed and local rival Duke, to go all the way to the Final Four. The team went from an astronomically disappointing season to a title contender in less than a month.
They found themselves matched up against No. 1 seed Purdue and Zach Edey. The team with one of the most embarrassing losses in NCAA history the year prior had stormed back with an unmatched intensity. This intensity would ultimately be too much for the Wolfpack, and their run would end there.
Following the Cinderella run, Keatts secured a massive payday. Clauses in his contract guaranteed a two-year extension due to the run as well as a $400,000 raise to $3.1 million annually. Unfortunately, following this run, the team has returned to a harsh reality. The team closed this season not even qualifying for the ACC tournament.
This pattern has been common for Keatts, as he has been the coach of two of the worst NC State teams ever to touch the hardwood. Furthermore, this trend seems to show no signs of reversing.
Conclusions
Diving into these past three Cinderella runs shows the fun of the run itself but also the potential aftermath. There have been coaches who have turned out to be amazing following Cinderella runs. However, recent seasons have shown that schools should not be so quick to jump onto the bandwagon and promote the legends of March Madness.
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