St. John’s University Exits CBS Sports Classic

St. John’s University had a brief involvement with the CBS Sports Classic, merely a one-year stint.

Next year, Kansas will take over St. John’s position in the lineup.

The team took a slot from UCLA during an event held in Atlanta last December, where they unfortunately lost to Kentucky.

Coach Rick Pitino mentioned that Fox, a key television partner for the Big East, is opposed to St. John’s participation in this tournament. Reportedly, there is a “footprint clause” asserting that games played at institutions in each Big East state belong to Fox.

The upcoming CBS Sports Classic is set to take place at Madison Square Garden.

“They’re controlling it. We requested to let us play there, but they didn’t agree,” Pitino remarked after his team, ranked 25th, beat Butler 92-70 at the Garden, marking their seventh consecutive victory. “It’s all tied to a television contract. You can’t really challenge that.”

At the moment, St. John’s has three games scheduled for the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas and a road matchup against Alabama next year.

Prior to the game, St. John’s celebrated Pitino’s 900th career victory with a video montage and presented him with a framed jersey that highlighted his milestone.

“It’s been quite a journey. My wife is back there shaking her head at all the moves we’ve made,” Pitino shared. “Starting in Hawaii, then working as Jim Boeheim’s first assistant in Syracuse… it’s been a long road. Reaching 900 wins is great, but hitting 1,000 would feel even better. I mean, I’ve been fortunate with health, and I have to keep recruiting. A strong recruiting class makes for a better coach.”

When asked about his aspirations for achieving 1,000 wins at St. John’s, Pitino simply stated, “I aim to remain a coach.”

Zuby Ejiofor contributed 15 points during the game, bringing his career total at St. John’s to 999 points. The last player to reach 1,000 was Joel Soriano during the 2023-24 season.