Andy Toole is in his 16th season as the Pat Gallagher Head Coach of the Colonials in 2025-26. Introduced as the eighth head coach in the program’s 50-year NCAA Division I history on May 11, 2010, Toole has led RMU to sustained success throughout his tenure.
Originally hired as an assistant coach under former head coach Mike Rice in 2007, Toole was elevated to associate head coach the following season before taking over the reins as head coach in 2010.
Most recently during Toole’s tenure, the Colonials claimed their first-ever Horizon League regular season and tournament championships in 2025. Additionally, Toole has been at the helm for a pair of Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championships (2013, 2014) and appeared in five NEC Tournament championship games (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020). He has led RMU to seven national postseason appearances, earning three automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament (2015, 2020, 2025), two appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) (2013, 2014), and two spots in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (2012, 2019).
Toole earned his first Horizon League Coach of the Year honor in 2025. He took a team that had just 10 wins the previous season and, despite significant roster turnover, led the Colonials to their most wins in program history with 26. The team’s .742 winning percentage was the highest since 2008 (.765). Nationally, RMU was ranked No. 16 in the final CollegeInsider.com Men’s Mid-Major Top 25®. On March 4, he was named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award, presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball.
During the 2024-25 season, the Colonial took home a pair of major Horizon League postseason awards as Alvaro Folgueiras was named Player of the Year and Amarion Dickerson Defensive Player of the Year.Â
In the first round of the 2022 Horizon League Tournament, Toole guided the Colonials to a 77-73 victory at Youngstown State (March 1, 2022). The win marked RMU’s first-ever Horizon League postseason victory and Toole’s 200th career win as head coach at RMU.
Toole played a key role in ushering RMU into a new era in 2019 with the opening of the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials debuted the new arena in front of a sold-out crowd against Pitt in November and capped off the home season with a 77-67 victory over Saint Francis U on March 10, 2020, in front of 4,034 fans. That win secured RMU’s league-high ninth NEC Tournament championship and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Colonials finished the 2019-20 season with a 20-14 (.588) record.
In just his second year as head coach (2011-12), Toole led RMU to a 26-11 (.703) overall record, tying a school record for victories. The team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2012 CIT with road wins over Indiana State and Toledo.
In 2012-13, RMU claimed its 10th NEC regular-season championship with a 14-4 (.778) conference record and finished 24-11 (.686) overall. The Colonials earned a spot in the 2013 NIT, advancing to the second round after a landmark 59-57 victory over Kentucky in front of 3,444 fans at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
RMU secured back-to-back NEC regular-season titles in 2013-14 with a 14-2 (.875) league record and a 22-14 (.611) overall mark. Toole was named the 2014 NEC Jim Phelan Coach of the Year. Led by 2014 NEC Player of the Year Karvel Anderson (2012-14), who scored a career-high 38 points, the Colonials defeated St. John’s 89-78 in the first round of the NIT. RMU is one of only four No. 8 seeds in NIT history to upset a No. 1 seed, with victories over both Kentucky and St. John’s.
In 2014-15, Toole guided RMU to a 20-15 (.571) overall record and a 12-6 (.667) mark in the NEC. As the No. 2 seed, the Colonials defeated No. 1 seed St. Francis Brooklyn 66-63 to capture their eighth NEC Tournament title and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
That season, RMU earned its second-ever NCAA Tournament victory and first since 1983, defeating North Florida 81-77 in the First Four at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The Colonials then faced eventual national champion Duke, falling 85-56 in the second round in Charlotte, N.C.
In the 2018-19 season, RMU posted an 18-17 (.514) overall record and an 11-7 (.611) mark in the NEC. The Colonials accepted their second invitation to the CIT, defeating Cornell 98-89 in overtime at the North Athletic Complex.
Toole’s first season at the helm (2010-11) saw RMU finish 18-14 (.563) overall and 12-6 (.667) in NEC play. The Colonials advanced to the NEC Tournament championship game but fell in overtime at LIU Brooklyn, 85-82.
RMU has consistently performed at a high level in conference play. In its last 13 years as an NEC member, the Colonials compiled a 161-71 (.694) conference record. The program won outright NEC regular-season titles in 2008, 2009, 2013, and 2014, and shared the championship in 2010 with Quinnipiac.
In 2008, RMU made its first NIT appearance, falling 87-81 to No. 1 overall seed Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. The Colonials earned automatic NCAA Tournament bids in 2009 and 2010 after winning their sixth and seventh NEC Tournament titles, respectively.
In the 2009 NCAA Tournament, RMU, as a No. 15 seed, lost to eventual national runner-up Michigan State, 77-62, in the first round at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. In 2010, RMU nearly upset No. 2 seed Villanova in the first round before falling 73-70 in overtime at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.
Before joining RMU in 2007, Toole spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., where he played a key role in recruiting and player development. His efforts helped lay the foundation for Lafayette’s run to the 2010 Patriot League Tournament championship game.
Toole was a four-year starter at the Division I level, playing for Elon University (1998-2000) before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania (2000-03).
Toole and his wife, Brooke, reside in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon with their two sons, Ryan and Colin.
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