Who is Rick Pitino's wife, Joanne Minardi? Exploring their relationship and married life 

With Rick Pitino and Iona set to take on the University of Connecticut on Friday, many are wondering about Pitino's wife, Joanne Minardi. The pair met in 1974 when Pitino was just a young assistant collegiate-level coach. Minardi, at the time, was a flight attendant.

Despite their busy careers, they developed a strong relationship and married two years later. Over the course of their relationship, the two have had five children together, one of who is the coach of the New Mexico Lobos collegiate team.

Unfortunately, one of their children tragically passed away at just six months old as the result of a heart congenital heart defect. However, for the couple, the tragedy wasn't the only strain their relationship would experience. In 1989 Pitino was accused of having an affair.

The scandal, and the extortion attempt that followed rocked the relationship, however, after an apology, the couple worked through the situation and stayed together. As Pitino revealed in 2010, he and Minardi went through a counseling program that ultimately strengthened their relationship.

In 2017, the pair was forced to work through another scandal, the infamous Louisville recruiting scandal that saw him fired. Despite the public scrutiny Pitino faced, Minardi stayed strong in their relationship and they are still married to this day.

Rick Pitino’s time coaching Iona

In the wake of Pitino’s Louisville scandal, he initially stated in an interview with ESPN that he was finished coaching. Despite that, he eventually took his talents overseas, coaching Greek Basketball Club Panathinaikos to two Greek league championships.

Beginning in with the 2019 season, he also coached the Greek National team, leading the team to a Greek Cup win that same year. Thanks to his impressive four-year run in Greece, Pitino was then hired to be Iona’s head coach.

With the international tour, and the latest success with Iona, Pitino believes that he can coach for another decade. At 70-years-old, the feat would mean that Pitino would coach to 80-years-old. Ahead of this year’s NCAA March Madness tournament, Pitino spoke about his plans for the future during an interview with ESPN, saying:

"Well, I'm physically fit and mentally I think I still have it," Pitino said Thursday. "But my wife always says, 'If you want to make God laugh, make a plan.' I think you just take it one year at a time. Now, my desire would be to coach that long. "Really, the two years I was out of coaching was really the most miserable two years of my life because I missed it so much because I love teaching, I love coaching, I love motivating -- everything about it, I missed it terribly."

You can see Pitino speaking about his future at Iona and shutting down rumors that he’s getting ready to leave the team, in the interview below.