Kennedy, Horvath-Killeen Named MAAC Honor Roll Inductees

WHITE PLAINS, NY –The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced the latest class to be inducted in the MAAC Honor Roll. The honorees will be enshrined in “The MAAC Experience” exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Oct. 17.

Former men’s basketball head coach Pat Kennedy and women’s basketball standout Toni Horvath-Killeen will be the Gaels’ representatives in this year’s MAAC Honor Roll class. Each honoree will be profiled in the game program for the 2016 MAAC Basketball Championships, and will also be featured in a video display at “The MAAC Experience.”

Pat Kennedy was one of the most successful coaches in Iona College men’s basketball history, posting a 124-60 in six seasons on the bench while earning four post season appearances. Kennedy was the Gaels’ head coach during the program’s inaugural season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and helped capture the first-ever MAAC Championship. A 1975 graduate of King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, Kennedy came to Iona as an assistant coach and joined Jim Valvano’s staff for the 1978-79 season. In two years as an assistant, the Gaels posted a 52-11 mark and earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids. It was the first NCAA appearance for the Maroon & Gold in history.

Kennedy succeeded Valvano as head coach in 1980 following the latter’s departure to North Carolina State. Kennedy’s 31-year head coaching career began in New Rochelle at the age of 27. Following a 15-14 season in 1980-81, the Gaels began a four-year stretch of 20+ win seasons, a mark only surpassed in program history during the current era. Iona finished third in the MAAC during the regular season in the MAAC’s inaugural season in 1981-82. With 21 wins during the regular season, the Gaels picked up three wins in the first-ever MAAC Tournament at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. The championship game was an overtime thriller, with the Gaels upending top seeded Saint Peter’s 66-61. Iona finished the season with a 24-9 mark after falling to Rutgers in the opening round of the 1982 NIT. Led by Kennedy, the Maroon & Gold captured its first MAAC Regular Season Championship in 1982-83, posting an 8-2 mark in league play. The Gaels were edged by Fordham in a heartbreaker, 54-53. The program competed in the NIT for the second straight year, earning a win over St. Bonaventure in the opening round before falling to Nebraska in round two.

Iona continued its success in MAAC play in 1984 and 1985 winning the regular season and tournament titles in both seasons. Earning the No. 3 seed in 1984 due to a three-way tie for first, the Gaels enacted revenge against Fordham in a 82-61 championship game victory. The team earned the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championship and dropped a heartbreaking one-point decision to Virginia in the opening round. In 1985, Iona won the MAAC regular season by two-games and defeated Fordham again in the final to advance to its second straight and fourth NCAA Tournament appearance. The team’s 26 wins in 1985 stood as the second most in program history at the time and currently remains the third highest single-season total at Iona.

Following his last season in New Rochelle in 1985-86, Kennedy left Iona to take the head coaching position at Florida State University which he held for 11 seasons. Kennedy also held a Division I head coaching position at DePaul from 1997-02, Montana from in 2002-04, and Towson from 2004-11. He was most recently head coach at nearby Pace University from 2013-15. At Iona, Kennedy’s four 20-win seasons and four postseason appearances are surpassed only by current head coach Tim Cluess.

Kennedy was inducted into the Iona College Goal Club Hall of Fame in 2000. As either an assistant or head coach, he mentored nine former student-athletes also in the Goal Club Hall of Fame, a who’s who in Iona basketball history: David P. Brown ‘79, Steve Burtt ‘84, Rory Grimes ‘85, Kevin Hamilton ‘80, Anthony Hargraves ‘85, Jeff Ruland ’91, Gary Springer ‘89, Kevin Vesey ’82, Glenn Vickers ’80. Kennedy also worked with four others Iona Hall of Famers including Jim Valvano, his trainer J.B. Buono, administrator Linda Bruno and former assistant coach and Iona Director of Athletics Rich Petriccione.

Toni Horvath-Killeen is one of the top playmakers in Iona College women’s basketball history, and helped turn the program around during the mid-2000s into a perennial contender. A three-time team captain, Horvath-Killeen was a two-time All-MAAC honoree, earning selection to the Third Team in both her junior and senior seasons, and graduated as program’s all-time leader in assists.

Horvath-Killeen also ranks 29th all-time in scoring with 825 points, while her 131 career three-pointers are ninth best in program history. Horvath-Killeen tallied 100 or more assists in each of her four seasons with the Gaels, including a then single season program record 158 as a senior, and finished no lower than sixth in assists per game in the MAAC during her career.

Horvath-Killeen quickly jumped into the starting lineup in the fourth game of her freshman season in 2004, and responded with an average of 8.1 points, third best on the team, and 3.8 assists per game during the season, earning MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year honors. She finished with a near 2:1 assist to turnover ratio as a freshman, fourth best in the MAAC and tops among rookies.

As a sophomore, Horvath-Killeen averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 assists per game, fifth best in the MAAC. As a junior, she registered 7.3 points and 5.3 assists per game, as Iona posted its first winning season (17-13) since its first season in the MAAC (14-12, 1981-82). Her 3.4 assist to turnover ratio was tops in the nation, and she also led the squad with 37 steals. As a senior during the 2006-07 season, Horvath-Killeen led the Gaels to a 21-3 record, and second straight 13-5 mark in league play. Horvath-Killeen averaged 6.1 points and 4.6 assists per game, leading the Iona to its first MAAC Championship game appearance.

Horvath-Killeen joined the Gaels’ coaching staff the season after graduating and stayed on the bench for three seasons, as Iona went 56-41 during the stretch and 34-20 in league play.

Iona MAAC Honor Roll Honorees