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Rick Pitino makes Division I basketball history with St. John’s Big East title
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Rick Pitino has found success at his many different stops coaching college basketball. That level of success is historic with his latest coaching accomplishment.
Pitino’s St. John’s squad has secured a share of the regular-season Big East championship for the first time since 1991-92. Pitino is the first coach in Division I history to win a conference title at 5 programs (Boston, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona and St. John’s).
Rick Pitino is now the first head coach in Division I history to win a regular-season conference title with five different programs, per @ESPNStatsInfo. Boston University, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona and St. John's. https://t.co/VJLqOdrhuM
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) February 27, 2025
Pitino, 72, got into coaching in 1974. There have been some notable gaps in between college coaching gigs, making his historic feat even more impressive.
Pitino left the college ranks for NBA opportunities 3 times. He left Boston University in 1983 to become an assistant coach with the New York Knicks, a gig that took him into 1985.
He took the Providence job in 1985, but it was back to the NBA in July 1987 to be the head coach of the Knicks. Pitino was with the Knicks until May 1989.
Pitino’s Kentucky tenure lasted from 1989-97. He departed UK for the opportunity to be the head coach of the Boston Celtics.
Pitino was with the Celtics until 2001. He then returned to college basketball, taking the Louisville job.
The last gap in Pitino’s coaching resume came for a different reason. Pitino was forced out at Louisville in 2017 amid a massive corruption scandal.
From 2018-20, Pitino coached Greek professional basketball team Panathinaikos B.C. He returned to college basketball taking the Iona job in March 2020. It was at Iona that Pitino became the third coach ever to lead 5 programs to the NCAA Tournament.
St. John’s went 20-13 in 2023-24, Pitino’s first season. The Red Storm is 24-4 in 2024-25 and ranked No. 7 with 2 remaining regular-season conference games before the Big East Tournament.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
