St. John's Red Storm

The St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 16 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University, in the U.S. state of New York. St. John's 16 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fencing team, which compete in the ECAC. On December 15, 2012, St.John's and the other seven Catholic, non-FBS schools announced that they were departing the Big East for a new conference.

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.

Until prior to the 1994–1995 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. 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.

Men
St. John's is the 7th most winningest program in college basketball history (1686 wins), St. John's boasts the 7th-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. 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 Div 1 Championship ) 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. St. John's also holds a Helms Athletic Foundation Championship. 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.

On September 19, 2011, three recruits from St. John' s 2011 class were ruled ineligible for the fall semester. The players will attempt to regain their eligibility in the spring.

Women
The women's basketball team is coached by Joe Tartamella, who became the head coach in 2012.

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. 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.

Baseball
The St. John's baseball team, currently coached by Ed Blankmeyer, has been to the College World Series six times, recorded 26 NCAA appearances, 6 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. This stadium was built despite large protests by community residents as well as State Senator Frank Padavan (while also using city financing) The Red Storm played the first ever game at the Mets' new ballpark, Citi Field on March 29, 2009.

Fencing
The St. John's fencing program has also attained national prominence including Olympians Keeth Smart and Ivan Lee. 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 2nd in the NCAA during 1995, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2010 seasons. In addition to team accolades, St. John's has won thirteen NCAA individual national championship titles.

Mascot
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.

Notable Red Storm

 * Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace) (born 1979), NBA basketball player
 * Rich Aurilia (born 1971), MLB professional baseball player
 * Erick Barkley, former NBA basketball player
 * Walter Berry, NBA basketball player
 * Keegan Bradley, PGA Tour golfer and 2011 PGA Major Championship winner
 * Lou Carnesecca, Hall of Fame basketball coach
 * Omar Cook, former NBA basketball player
 * Mike Francesa, sportscaster
 * John Franco, former baseball player who was captain for the New York Mets
 * Bill Gaudette, MLS professional soccer player
 * Matt Groenwald, MLS professional soccer player
 * Zendon Hamilton, U.S. professional basketball player in Europe, former NBA player
 * Craig Hansen, MLB professional baseball player
 * Maurice Harkless (born 1993), NBA basketball player
 * Darryl Hill, basketball player known as "Showtime Hill"
 * Mark Jackson, NBA basketball player and head coach
 * Shalrie Joseph, MLS professional soccer player
 * D. J. Kennedy, former NBA basketball player
 * Brian Kenny, MLB Network sportscaster
 * John Kresse, NCAA men's basketball coach at the College of Charleston
 * Al McGuire, NCAA men's basketball coach and sports commentator
 * Frank McGuire, NCAA Men's basketball coach at St. John's, North and South Carolina and NBA coach for the Philadelphia Warriors
 * Stefani Miglioranzi,MLS professional soccer player for Philadelphia Union, formally played in England for Swindon Town
 * Chris Mullin, 1984 Olympic gold-medal winner and NBA basketball player
 * Joe Panik, professional baseball player, 2011 first-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants
 * Brent Sancho, MLS professional soccer player
 * Malik Sealy, NBA basketball player (now deceased)
 * Bob Sheppard, sports announcer for the New York Yankees and New York Giants, "Voice of the Yankees"
 * Keeth Smart, Olympic fencer, first U.S. fencer to reach #1 world ranking
 * Frank Viola, professional baseball player
 * Bill Wennington, Canadian NBA basketball player and author
 * Jayson Williams, NBA basketball player and author
 * Chris Wingert, MLS professional soccer player
 * Mel Davis, European professional basketball player, current Director of Basketball Alumni Development for St. John's University