March 11, 2026
St. John’s University spirit was on display from Jamaica, NY, to midtown Manhattan on March 10 as members of the school’s spirit squads and the Red Storm Pep Band joined mascot Johnny Thunderbird in a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) caravan to promote the BIG EAST Conference Tournament, which begins on March 11.
Partnering for the second consecutive year with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the St. John’s contingent rode from the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road station to Penn Station, home of Madison Square Garden (MSG), where the men’s basketball tournament will be played.
The Red Storm, 25–6 and 18–2 in BIG EAST play, are the top seed in the tournament and will play the winner of Wednesday night’s Providence College-Butler University game on Thursday at noon. Members of the St. John’s community are invited to a free campus watch party at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday.
The MTA invitation served a dual purpose—to celebrate the Red Storm’s second consecutive conference regular-season title and to remind fans that the best way to attend tournament games is via public transportation. The MTA operates the LIRR, Metro-North Railroad, and New York City Transit.
“We are all super excited to be here,” said Dance team member Ella Orrico, a sophomore. “We are way more eager than last year. Head Coach Rick Pitino has conjured a team even better than last year. Just seeing how the fans react to this team is incredible.”
“This year was a lot more competitive across the BIG EAST, especially at the beginning of the season,” added Julia Clinton, who plays the flute in the Pep Band. “It felt like anyone could have won the championship, but we peaked at the right time and now we are all super hyped.”
Red Storm enthusiasm was evident early as the Pep Band fired up its gameday classics in the railroad car, including the St. John’s Fight Song and Johnny B. Goode. The St. John’s contingent then assembled near Penn Station’s 33rd Street entrance as MTA officials acknowledged another successful season. St. John’s is ranked 13th nationally in both the Associated Press media poll and the USA Today coaches poll.
As they did in 2025, MTA officials dimmed the traditional white lights in Penn Station and counted down from five before illuminating the station in St. John’s red and white.
“Let’s make it two years in a row,” said LIRR President and college basketball fan Rob Free. “Grab your jersey and get on the LIRR—the easiest way to get to Madison Square Garden—and support the Red Storm or any of the other BIG EAST teams.”
First-year Cheerleading team member Samantha Bishop said she has felt the St. John’s energy grow across the campus and across New York City. “It is very exciting to be on campus and at all the games. You really feed off the crowd’s energy. It is like a whole other world when you are on the MSG floor.”
Among the MTA representatives to greet the St. John’s contingent was David Cannon ’85CBA, who retired in 2024 after 38 years at the MTA. Mr. Cannon was the senior student manager of the 1985 Men’s Basketball team—the last St. John’s team to reach the Final Four of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament.
Pressed for a BIG EAST Tournament prediction, Mr. Cannon channeled legendary Lou Carnesecca ’50SJC, ’60M.S.Ed., ’00HON, saying: “Don’t put the horns on us. I am just going to say, the sky is the limit.”
For the second consecutive season, the Red Storm enters the tournament with an 18–2 conference record. Vice President and Director of Athletics Ed Kull ’05MBA noted that 60 percent of St. John’s 10,000 season ticket holders live on Long Island, making the Red Storm the ideal messengers for mass transit.
“True Johnnies from every block and every borough know that using MTA services is the best way to get to Madison Square Garden,” Mr. Kull said. “Throughout the BIG EAST Tournament, jump on the subway or LIRR and ride straight into the heart of the action.”
With that, the St. John’s contingent headed home—with one slight hiccup.
In a quintessential New York moment, after the festivities had concluded, Sophia Beyazoglu, a member of the Cheer team, realized she had left her phone on the LIRR train that brought the St. John’s delegation into Manhattan. That train subsequently traveled east to Huntington, NY, and then back to Penn Station.
Fortunately, an MTA worker, with the diligent assistance of Inspector John Farraday, Commanding Officer of the MTA’s District 4, recovered the phone and personally returned it to the relieved cheerleader. Notably, Inspector Farraday is also a graduate of St. John’s and a longtime fan of St. John’s basketball.
Watch a video from the event.
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