| St. John's Red Storm | |
| University: | St. John's University (New York City) |
| Association: | NCAA |
| Conference: | Big East Conference |
| Division: | Division I |
| Director: | Mike Cragg (until June 30, 2024) |
| Location: | New York City, New York |
| Teams: | 17 |
| Basketballarena: | Carnesecca Arena, Madison Square Garden |
| Baseballfield: | Jack Kaiser Stadium |
| Soccerfield: | Belson Stadium |
| Softballstadium: | Red Storm Field |
| Mascot: | Johnny Thunderbird |
| Nickname: | Red Storm |
| Fightsong: | All Hail St. John's Red Storm |
| Pageurl: | https://redstormsports.com |
The St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 17 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University, in the U.S. state of New York. St. John's 17 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fencing team, which compete in the ECAC.
The athletic program fields sixteen intercollegiate teams: basketball, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, golf, and fencing for men and basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball, tennis, track and field, cross country, golf, and fencing for women. In 2002, the university eliminated five men's athletic teams and one women's team in order to comply with Title IX rules prohibiting activities that receive federal assistance from discriminating on the basis of gender.[1]
Prior to the 1994–95 school year, the university's nickname was the St. John's Redmen, which referenced the red uniforms worn by its teams in competition. The name was interpreted as a Native American reference in the 1960s, and the university did have a mascot (adorned in Native American dress), which eventually led to the team's name change to the Red Storm. The change happened at a time when there was mounting pressure on colleges and universities to adopt names more sensitive to Native American culture.[2] [3] The Redmen name still remains popular among fans, however, as does "Johnnies". On September 18, 2009, the new mascot, which was voted on by students, was revealed: Johnny Thunderbird.
On December 15, 2012, St. John's and the other six Catholic, non-FBS schools (the so-called "Catholic 7") announced that they were departing the former Big East for a new conference.[4] The "Catholic 7", after purchasing the "Big East" name from the FBS schools and adding Butler, Creighton, and Xavier, began operating as the new Big East Conference beginning in July 2013.[5] [6]
| Basketball | ||
| Cross country | ||
| Fencing | Fencing | |
| Golf | Golf | |
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Tennis | Tennis | |
| Track & field† | ||
| Volleyball | ||
See main article: St. John's Red Storm baseball.
The St. John's baseball team, currently coached by Mike Hampton, has been to the College World Series six times, recorded 34 NCAA appearances, 8 Big East Championships and have sent 70 players on to professional baseball careers. The team plays at the 3,500-seat Jack Kaiser Stadium, dedicated in 2007 to the Hall of Fame Coach and former St. John's Athletic Director. The stadium is one of the largest college baseball stadiums in the northeast, and is a featured venue on the EA Sports MVP NCAA baseball video game. The stadium was conceived out of a deal between the university and the Giuliani administration. The administration wanted to find a location for a single-A team that would be affiliated with the New York Mets. Expressing concern about quality of life issues and the spending of public money for a private religious institution, surrounding neighborhood civic groups and local politicians protested the plan. In order to placate their concerns, however, the Mets offered to open it up to the communities for local high school games and youth programs.[7] This stadium was built despite large protests by community residents as well as State Senator Frank Padavan[7] (while also using city financing).[7] The Red Storm played the first-ever game at the Mets' new ballpark, Citi Field on March 29, 2009.
See main article: St. John's Red Storm men's basketball.
St. John's is the seventh-most-winningest program in college basketball history (1,686 wins),[9] St. John's boasts the seventh-most NCAA tournament appearances (27), two Wooden Award winners as national player of the year, 11 consensus All-Americans, 6 members of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, and has sent 59 players to the NBA. However, St. John's currently holds the NCAA Division I record for most NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship appearances without a championship. The Red Storm play most of their home games at Madison Square Garden, "The World's Most Famous Arena", while their early non-conference games are held at Carnesecca Arena on the St. John's campus in Queens.[10] St. John's University holds the second best winning percentage for a New York City school in the NCAA basketball tournament (second to City College of New York, which won the 1950 NCAA Division I Championship[11]). St. John's has the most NIT appearances with 27, the most championship wins with 6, although they were stripped of one due to an NCAA infraction.[12] The 1910–11 St. John's team finished the season with a 14–0 record[13] and was retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.[14] [15] In 2008, St. John's celebrated its 100th year of college basketball.
On February 21, 2011, the men's basketball team was voted into the top 25 in the AP and ESPN Coaches poll. This was the first time the team had been ranked since the end of the season in 2000.
The basketball team is the most popular collegiate basketball program in New York City and has a world-wide following. There are numerous fan forums that support the basketball program, in addition to all of the university's teams. The most popular is redmen.com which often leads the mainstream sports media in breaking news regarding its sports teams.
See main article: St. John's Red Storm women's basketball.
The women's basketball team is currently coached by Joe Tartamella, who became the program's seventh head coach in 2012. Since then the team has competed in six post-season tournaments in his seven-year tenure and won one Big East tournament title. The program's highest post-season finish came during the 2011–12 season when they advanced to Sweet Sixteen under Kim Barnes Arico led by WNBA draft picks, Nadirah McKenith and Shenneika Smith.
Since then the program has had two additional WNBA selections, in Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant, who helped add a fourth Big East tournament championship in 2016.
The St. John's fencing program has also attained national prominence under US Fencing Hall of Fame and five-time Olympic saber coach Yury Gelman. In 2001, St. John's won the NCAA Fencing Championship. The team has ranked in the top five each of the last 10 years, and finished second in the NCAA during 1995, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2010 seasons. In addition to team accolades, St. John's has won 22 NCAA individual national championship titles.[10] Israeli Olympian Tomer Or is a coach of the team.
Notable former fencers:
The men's golf team have won 10 Big East conference titles: 1979, 1981–84, 1986–89, 2014. The men's team also had three players finish in first place at the annual Big East Championship: Andrew Svoboda in 2001, Ryan McCormick in 2014, and Dylan Crowley in 2015.
The women's golf team won the first and only Big East team championship in 2005 and two individual championships in 2011 and 2014.
Notable former golfers:
See main article: St. John's Red Storm men's soccer.
St. John's won the 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship, made four appearances in the NCAA College Cup (1996, 2001, 2003 and 2008) and reached sixteen NCAA post-season tournaments, including fifteen straight from 1992 to 2006. The Red Storm also reached ten consecutive NCAA Tournament Rounds of sixteen from 1996 to 2005. Under Coach Masur, the Red Storm have also won seven Big East tournament titles, six regular season crowns and has qualified for eighteen consecutive Big East tournaments. Their home games are hosted at Belson Stadium, a state-of-the-art 2,168-seat stadium on the university campus, which sells out often.[10] In 2006, the men's soccer team became the first American soccer team to be invited to play in Vietnam. The team played against several Vietnam Football Federation squads as well as participating in community service.[16]
The St. John's program have been members of the Big East since the conference started sponsoring women's soccer in 1994, and winning the conference's inaugural tournament. The Red Storm have competed in four NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championships with a record of 2–2–1 with their two wins coming in 2013 against Central Florida before falling to Arkansas in the second round, and their second 1–0 over Brown in extra time in the first round in 2021. They were led by two-time NSCAA All-American Rachel Daly who went on to break many university scoring records and being selected in the 2016 NWSL College Draft by the Houston Dash with the sixth overall pick.
The men's tennis team has won 6 Big East conference titles: 1980, 1991, 2014–2016, 2019.
The women's tennis team won their first and only Big East conference championship in 2018.
See main article: St. John's Red Storm football. St. John's discontinued its varsity football team in 2002.
St. John's has won two NCAA team national championships.[17]
In spring 2009, St. John's allowed its students to vote on what the new official Red Storm mascot would be. At a soccer game in fall 2009, members of the Athletics Department announced that a Thunderbird had received the majority of votes and would become the new mascot. After a vote, the new mascot was named Johnny Thunderbird. He can be seen at many of the school's athletic events, cheering on the Red Storm.[18]
In 1984, St. John's established an athletics hall of fame with 10 charter members representing a cross-section of the school's athletic history.
| width=70 | 1984–85 | 10 | Larry Bearnarth, baseball; LeRoy Ellis, men's basketball; Tom Farrell, track and field; James Freeman, men's basketball coach; Lynn Burke, swimming; Joe Lapchick, men's basketball coach; Frank McGuire, men's basketball coach; Dick McGuire, men's basketball; Walter T. McLaughlin, athletic director; George Seewagen, tennis coach |
| 1985–86 | 10 | Harry Boykoff, men's basketball; John Duenzl, track and field; Matt Galante, baseball; Tony Jackson, men's basketball; Max Kinsbrunner, men's basketball; Kevin Loughery, men's basketball; Jack McMahon, men's basketball; Nancy Midwinter, swimming; Philip Reilly, fencing; Bill Ward, track and field coach/intramural director | |
| 1986–87 | 10 | Frank Briggs, rifle; Lou Carnesecca, men's basketball coach; Jack Garfinkel, men's basketball; Hy Gotkin, men's basketball; Ling Ling Hou, women's basketball; Jack Kaiser, baseball coach and athletic director; Andrew Levane, men's basketball; Mickey Rutner, baseball; Alan Seiden, men's basketball; John Warren, men's basketball | |
| 1987–88 | 5 | Sue Bretthauer, women's basketball; Reggie Carter, men's basketball; Pete Close, track and field; Sonny Dove, men's basketball; Bob Sheppard, announcer | |
| 1988–89 | 6 | Tito Balestrieri, rifle; Mel Davis, men's basketball; Andre Deladrier, fencing coach; Sal Ferrara, baseball; Dr. Carl Fields, track and field; John "Doc" Gimmler, head athletic trainer/golf coach | |
| 1989–90 | 6 | Kim Thomas Barnes (Carter), track and field; Rev. Henry Honsberger, moderator of athletics; Bob Kaczmarek, baseball; Billy Schaeffer, men's basketball; Joseph Schneider, track and field; Peter Toennies, swimming | |
| 1990–91 | 6 | Gerry Bush, men's basketball; Oneitha "Nene" Davis, track and field; Timothy Hanlon, track and field; William McKeever, men's basketball; Kathleen Murphy-Meehan, women's basketball; Mike Proly, baseball | |
| 1991–92 | 6 | Frank Alagia, men's basketball; Steve Bartold, track and field coach; Debbie Beckford, women's basketball; Ed Bertram, tennis; John Gallagher, men's basketball; Marty Satalino, baseball/men's basketball | |
| 1992–93 | 6 | Mike Diffley, golf; George Johnson, men's basketball; Joseph Lang, track and field; Milt Rosenbaum, baseball; Maryanne Persan-Torellas, track and field; James White, men's basketball | |
| 1993–94 | 6 | Herb Hess, equipment manager; Bob McIntyre, men's basketball; Rev. Robert Rivard, moderator of athletics; Constance Darnowski-Stoll, track and field; Solly Walker, men's basketball; Ed Waters, baseball | |
| 1994–95 | 6 | Gerald Calabrese, men's basketball; Jack Curran, baseball/men's basketball; Al "Dusty" DeStefano, men's basketball; Rev. W. Graham, administrator; Bartholomew Nnaji, track and field; Randi Samet, fencing | |
| 1995–96 | 5 | Bill Cimmillo, football; Bill Esposito, sports information director; Richard Krempecki, swimming; Barbara Perry, tennis; David Russell, men's basketball | |
| 1996–97 | 6 | John DaSilva, hockey; Dr. Irving Glick, team physician; Billy Paultz, men's basketball; Bob Ricca, football coach; Frank Viola, baseball; Virginia Young-Coleman, track and field | |
| 1997–98 | 6 | Dennis Bligen, football; Jack Carew, cross country; John Franco, baseball; Frank Gilroy, men's basketball; Rev. Edward Kiernan, moderator of athletics; Dorothy Pace-Giordano, women's basketball | |
| 1998–99 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 1999–2000 | 6 | Sonja Fitts, track and field; Sabrina Johnson, women's basketball; Roger "Dutch" Ouderkirk, assistant football coach/equipment manager; Ron Rutledge, assistant men's basketball coach; Tom Sowinski, baseball; Glenn Williams, men's basketball | |
| 2000–01 | 8 | Joe Brodeth, fencing coach; Gil Hodges, honorary inductee; Erin McDonnell, softball; Ken McIntyre, men's basketball; Rich Napolitano, baseball; Anthony Russo Jr., football; Jackie Smith, women's basketball; Bill Wennington, men's basketball | |
| 2001-02 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2002-03 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2003-04 | 5 | Cozette Ballentine, women's basketball; The Belson Family (Jerome, Maxine, and Tad Belson), contributors; Dr. David Masur, men's soccer coach; Michael Ricigliano, baseball; 1996 Men's Soccer Team, men's soccer | |
| 2004-05 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2005-06 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2006-07 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2007-08 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2008-09 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2009–10 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2010–11 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2011–12 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2012–13 | 10 | Walter Berry, men's basketball; Cristin Burtis, women's soccer; Huey Ferguson, men's soccer; Courtney Fitzgerald-Cardot, softball; Youree Spence-Garcia, track and field; Dolores Dixon-Grevious, women's basketball; Keeth Smart, fencing; Arlene Stevens, fencing; Donald and Eleanor Taffner, contributors; Anthony Zito, football | |
| 2013–14 | 7 | Rich Aurilia, baseball; Fred Bischoff, men's soccer; Mike Bolger, lacrosse; Adriana Burke-Viola, women's soccer; Wioleta Leszczynska, women's volleyball; Janet Roos, women's basketball; Malik Sealy, men's basketball | |
| 2014–15 | 7 | The Brennan Family, contributors; Tina Loven, fencing; Chris Mullin, men's basketball; C. J. Nitkowski, baseball; Erik Scharf, men's tennis; Andrew Svoboda, men's golf; Kia Wright, women's basketball | |
| 2015–16 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2016–17 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2017–18 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2018–19 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2019–20 | 8 | Jackie Ahlers, women's volleyball; Keegan Bradley, men's golf; Yury Gelman, fencing coach; Roman Linscheid, men's track and field; Felipe Lopez, men's basketball; Joe Russo, baseball coach; Da'Shena Stevens, women's basketball; Chris Wingert, men's soccer | |
| 2020–21 | no induction ceremony held | ||
| 2021–22 | 9 | Ralph Addonizio, baseball; Kevin Daly, men's soccer; Joe Depre, men's basketball; Jim Hurt, track and field coach; Mark Jackson, men's basketball; Todd Jamison, football; Harin Lee, women's golf; Shenneika Smith, women's basketball; Dagmara Wozniak, fencing | |
| 2022–23 | 6 | Priscilla Frederick, track and field; Ed Blankmeyer, baseball coach; Jayson Williams, men's basketball; Kieran McArdle, men's lacrosse; Jerry Houston, men's basketball; Nadirah McKenith, women's basketball | |
| 2023–24 | 8 | Craig Hansen, baseball; Gus Alfieri, men's basketball; Greg "Boo" Harvey, men's basketball; Bernard Rencher, men's basketball; Aliyyah Handford, women's basketball; Erin Burner, softball; Ben Hickey, men's soccer; Diana Poulin, women's soccer |