[1] Prior to Rutgers, Pikiell was the head coach at Stony Brook for over a decade, leading the Seawolves to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016.

[2] At the University of Connecticut, Pikiell worked as a point guard, two-year captain and four-year letterwinner for the Huskies from 1987 to 1991.

While Pikiell was the team captain, Connecticut won its first Big East title and advanced to the Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen.

Pikiell joined fellow UConn alum Karl Hobbs as an assistant at George Washington from 2001–05, where he was part of the Colonials 2004 NIT and 2005 NCAA tournament squads.

The following year in 2009–10, Stony Brook earned their first regular season championship with a 22–10, 13–3 record, ending with a semifinal loss in the tournament.

Pikiell guided the Seawolves to a 15–17 mark in 2010–11, making a run to the America East Championship game after an upset over top-seeded Vermont in the semifinals, but lost to Boston on a last-second foul.