SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- Seton Hall has once again turned to Iona in making an important hiring in the athletic department.
A source with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Tony Bozzella was picked to replace Anne Donovan as the Pirates' women's basketball coach and will be introduced at a news conference on Wednesday.
The source asked not to be identified because neither Seton Hall nor Iona has confirmed the hiring.
It marks the third time in three years the Big East school has turned to Iona to hire a basketball coach or athletic director. Kevin Willard left Iona in 2010 to take over the Pirates' men's team. Seton Hall hired Iona athletic director Patrick Lyons the following year, and now Lyons has signed Bozzella after 11 seasons at Iona. The Gaels went 20-13 this season, losing in the first round of the WNIT.
A 1988 graduate of Seton Hall, Bozzella arrived at Iona in 2002, inheriting a program that had struggled through 20 consecutive losing seasons. He posted a 152-187 record in 11 seasons, three times winning 20 games after starting his opening year with a 1-27 mark.
Bozzella took the Gaels to three MAAC title games during his tenure but never won a championship in a league dominated by Marist.
Seton Hall had an 11-20 overall record this season, ending double-digit losing streaks against Rutgers and St. John's. The Pirates also went 5-11 in the Big East, their highest league win total in seven seasons.
Donovan, hired along with Willard in 2010, left the program to return to the WNBA, where she will coach the Connecticut Sun.
Donovan won a WNBA championship with Seattle in 2004. The 1995 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee also has coached Indiana, Charlotte and New York in the WNBA, compiling a 167-150 record in 10 seasons. She earned two Olympic gold medals as a player and coached the United States to a gold medal in the 2008 Olympic games.
Seton Hall will be a member of the new, 10-team Big East starting next season, joining Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's Villanova and Xavier.