Tobin Anderson is the current head coach of the Fairleigh Dickinson basketball team. He started his basketball career at Wesleyan University in Middletown, where he played for the Division III program and scored 1,129 points, ranking him 11th all-time on the school’s scoring list. Anderson spent about a decade coaching at Division II school St. Thomas Aquinas before joining Fairleigh Dickinson as a Division I head coach. He led his team to victory against Texas Southern in the First Four NCAA Tournament game earlier in the week, defeating them 84-61. Despite the slim odds of defeating Purdue in the next round, Anderson encouraged his team to believe that they could win. Fairleigh Dickinson will face the winner of Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic on Sunday.
Tobin Anderson’s Basketball Career and Journey to Fairleigh Dickinson
Tobin Anderson, the current head coach of Fairleigh Dickinson basketball team, began his basketball career at Wesleyan University in Middletown. He played basketball for the Division III program and scored 1,129 points, ranking him 11th all-time on the school’s scoring list. After high school, he attended a prep school in Maine, hoping to eventually play in the Ivy League. However, he soon realized he was in over his head with several Division I-caliber players on the roster. He was then told it was unlikely he was going to play Division I basketball, but Wesleyan was put on his radar.
Anderson described Wesleyan as “the best fit” for him, earning him a bachelor’s degree in American studies in 1995. In his first year at Fairleigh Dickinson, Anderson led the team to victory against Texas Southern in the First Four NCAA Tournament game earlier in the week, defeating them 84-61. Although the odds of defeating Purdue in the next round were slim, Anderson encouraged his team to believe that they could win. His motivational speech to his team in the locker room following the Texas Southern win went viral and has since garnered millions of views online.
Anderson spent about a decade coaching at Division II school St. Thomas Aquinas before joining Fairleigh Dickinson as a Division I head coach. Despite growing up in Iowa, Anderson has strong connections to Connecticut, and his time at Wesleyan holds a special place in his heart. He said, “What a night,” Anderson said after the game, still in awe of his team’s upset performance. “Incredible win for us. Incredible win for our program, our school. Hard to put it in words right now. Honestly, it’s really hard to even – it just happened, right?”
Fairleigh Dickinson will face the winner of Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic on Sunday, and Anderson remains determined to lead his team to victory. When asked if he really believed his team stood a chance against Purdue, he said, “I’m not sure how much I meant it. I wanted our guys to believe. As a coach or a leader, you try to get them to believe in what we’re doing, how we’re doing it.”
Don’t miss interesting posts on Famousbio
