Annual Celebration to Include Weeklong Johnnies Day Food Trail, other festivities
February 12, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: James Stephen Smith
Director of Media Relations, St. John’s University
516-313-4568 (c), 718-990-5789 (o)
[email protected]
(QUEENS, NY, February 12, 2026) —St. John’s University will celebrate Johnnies Day on Saturday, February 21, when the Men’s Basketball team tips off at noon against the Creighton University Bluejays at Madison Square Garden (MSG). The game climaxes a weeklong celebration of St. John’s spirit, highlighted by the Johnnies Day Food Trail, which begins on Sunday, February 15.
On Johnnies Day, the University encourages the entire St. John’s community—and the city that St. John’s has called home since 1870—to share their Red Storm spirit in person and on social media during the important BIG EAST Conference matchup.
Johnnies everywhere are encouraged to share their school pride on social media, tagging @stjohnsu and using the hashtags #SJUElevates and #JohnniesDay. A random social media contributor will win a $500 VISA® gift card. Johnnies Day is also a Red Out this year in which fans are invited to wear their best St. John’s red at the game or elsewhere. St. John’s apparel can be purchased at the official Johnnies Day Spirit Store.
The Johnnies Day Food Trail is a partnership between the University, Sciarratta Public Relations, and more than 80 restaurants and similar establishments throughout New York City and beyond. Johnnies are encouraged to check in at as many restaurants as possible during the week for a chance to win a Johnnies Day prize pack that includes a pair of tickets to the St. John’s-Villanova University game Saturday, February 28 at MSG. Winners will be selected in each of five categories—current student, alumni, employee, prospective student/fan, and the restaurant with the most check-ins.
Some restaurants on the Food Trail will contribute to St. John’s on-campus food pantry, Vincent’s Table, including Burrito Blvd. (Middle Village, NY), Fortunato Bros. (Williamsburg, Brooklyn), Gaudio’s Pizzeria and Restaurant (Astoria), Luigi’s Pizza (Park Slope, Brooklyn) Mario’s Meats and Deli (Middle Village), and Tutto Calcio Espresso Bar (Whitestone).
The St. John’s Women’s Basketball team will face Georgetown on Wednesday, February 18, at 7 p.m. in the Johnnies Day kickoff game at Carnesecca Arena on the Queens, NY, campus. Free admission to the 1870 Court pregame reception is included with each ticket purchase and includes appetizers and a drink voucher. It also serves as a Food Trail check-in point. Guests can enjoy a free tasting of Threes Brewing Company’s Game Theory pilsner, which celebrates the brewery’s partnership with St. John’s.
Other Johnnies Day festivities include a Johnnies Day “pregame” celebration on February 20 at Threes Brewing’s Brooklyn location—333 Douglass Street in the Gowanus section—where Johnnies can enjoy free samples of Game Theory in a private room. Guests who take a photo with Johnny Thunderbird will enjoy $1 off pints of Game Theory at the main bar.
Alumni across the country will cheer on the Red Storm men’s team at Johnnies Day watch parties in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, and elsewhere.
The defending Big East regular season and tournament champion Red Storm men’s team—19-5 this season, 12-1 in the Big East—is ranked 17th in the nation.
Since 1870, St. John’s University has been part of the life and legacy of New York. Founded in Brooklyn, NY, before New York City was consolidated, the enduring mission of St. John’s is to be an institution of higher education for immigrants and their children. That mission has endured for more than a century and a half, and St. John’s has grown into a local, national, and global institution with an alumni network of 200,000-plus living members.
Enriched by a tapestry of cultures that complement an internationalized curriculum, St. John’s is one of the nation’s most diverse higher education institutions and one of the top-ranked national universities for social mobility.
About St. John’s University:
St. John’s University is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic University founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), with its main campus located in Queens, NY. St. John’s University also has campuses and locations in Manhattan, NY; Rome, Italy; Paris, France; and Limerick, Ireland.
St. John’s University is comprised of six Schools and Colleges, including the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business (including the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science), The School of Education, and the School of Law.
As of Fall 2025, the University has almost 1,300 full-time and part-time faculty; 16,651 undergraduate students; and 3,784 graduate students from 45 states and 125 countries. St. John’s offers more than 200 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 16 doctoral programs.
For media inquiries, please contact the University’s Office of Media Relations at 718-990-1621; [email protected].