Tim Cluess
# Tim Cluess

Timothy Michael Cluess (born March 9, 1959) is an American college basketball coach who most recently was the head men's basketball coach at Iona College. He is also a former head coach of Long Island University–C.W. Post.

## College playing career

Born in Queens, New York, Cluess played college basketball at St. John's (1979–81) and Hofstra (1982–83).

## Professional playing career

Cluess played professionally in Europe and Australia.

## Coaching career

### High school

Cluess was the head coach of Saint Mary's High School in Manhasset, New York for 14 seasons (1991–2005). Cluess's Gaels won four Class A New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association (NYSCHSAA) championships and two New York State Federation of Secondary Schools Athletic Associations (NYSFSSA) championships. However, St. Mary's played in the Class A Division, and failed to advance past the New York City representative of much stronger Class AA Division each time they attempted to advance for the right to play in the New York State Class AA Federation Tournament.

In 2004–05, Saint Mary's posted a 25–1 overall record. The lone loss came against a New York City team, Xaverian, from the class AA Division as St. Mary's once again failed to advance past New York City in the Class AA Division.

### College

Cluess’ first college coaching job was the 2005–06 Suffolk County Community College team that finished with a regular season record of 20–9. They appeared in their first NJCAA Division III tournament that year, winning their first two games before being eliminated in their third game and finishing the season at 22–10.

After one year at the junior college level, Cluess became the head coach for the Long Island University C.W. Post Campus Pioneers. He led the team to three straight first-place finishes in the East Coast Conference, including two conference tournament titles in 2007–08 and 2008–09. In four seasons at LIU-Post, Cluess led the team to two NCAA Division II men's basketball tournaments in 2008 and 2009. The 2008–09 squad finished the regular season with a record of 24–0, in route to an NCAA Division II Elite Eight tournament appearance and a 30–1 final record.

In April 2010 Cluess replaced Kevin Willard as the head men's basketball coach at Iona College. Cluess' record in nine seasons at Iona was 199–108.

Just before the 2019–20 pre-season, Cluess took a leave of absence to deal with personal health issues. Associate head coach Tra Arnold took over head coaching duties for the remainder of the season.

On March 13, 2020, Cluess stepped down from Iona due to his health issues. Rick Pitino was named to replace Cluess as head coach the next day.

## Head coaching record

### Junior college

Statistics overview :

| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Postseason |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Suffolk Pioneers (Region XV) (2005–2006) ||||||
| 2005–06 | Suffolk | 22–10 | 20–9 | 2–1 |
| Suffolk: | Suffolk: | 22–10 (.688) | | |
| Total: | Total: | 22–10 (.688) | | |

### College

Statistics overview :

| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| LIU Post Pioneers (East Coast Conference) (2006–2010) ||||||
| 2006–07 | LIU Post | 19–11 | 13–7 | 3rd | |
| 2007–08 | LIU Post | 26–5 | 18–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II Regionals |
| 2008–09 | LIU Post | 30–1 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Division II Elite Eight |
| 2009–10 | LIU Post | 23–6 | 18–3 | T–1st | |
| LIU Post: | LIU Post: | 98–23 (.810) | 67–12 (.848) | | |
| Iona Gaels (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2010–2020) ||||||
| 2010–11 | Iona | 25–12 | 13–5 | 2nd | CIT Runner-up |
| 2011–12 | Iona | 25–8 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I First Four |
| 2012–13 | Iona | 20–14 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| 2013–14 | Iona | 22–11 | 17–3 | 1st | NIT first round |
| 2014–15 | Iona | 26–9 | 17–3 | 1st | NIT first round |
| 2015–16 | Iona | 22–11 | 16–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| 2016–17 | Iona | 22–13 | 12–8 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| 2017–18 | Iona | 20–14 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| 2018–19 | Iona | 17–16 | 12–6 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| Iona: | Iona: | 199–108 (.648) | 124–46 (.729) | | |
| Total: | Total: | 297–131 (.694) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||
