Where is St. John's University? Location, city, more to know about Red Storm basketball program

While St. John's had ample success in the 1980s and 1990s, with frequent appearances, the school has been looking to return to those standards in an age where NIL reigns supreme.

Now, in back-to-back seasons as head coach, Rick Pitino has led the Johnnies to the Round of 32. This year, the Red Storm are looking to pull off a massive upset over the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 to appear in their first Elite 8 since 1999.

While some may know St. John's is located somewhere in the New York metro area, its exact whereabouts may not be as popularly known. The school has changed locations from its first days in 1870 and has had multiple campuses come and go.

Let's take a look at the history of St. John's and how the Red Storm has fared in the NCAA Tournament.

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Where is St. John's located?

St. John's main campus is located in Jamaica, Queens, New York. The school also has a smaller campus in Manhattan. St. John's also had a campus in Staten Island, which later closed in spring 2024 due to declining enrollment.

St. John's is a private, catholic university. For fall 2024, the undergraduate enrollment total sat around 15,640, per the U.S. News and World Report.

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What conference is St. John's in?

The St. John's Red Storm, who have 16 varsity sports, compete in the NCAA's Big East Conference. The conference was founded in 1979 and is based in the Northeastern region of the United States.

St. John's has been a part of the conference since its inception in 1979. They continued in the "new" Big East Conference on July 1, 2013, when the conference split into non-football and FBS schools. The Big East currently includes 11 teams, which are as follows:

• Butler University
• University of Connecticut
• Creighton University
• DePaul University
• Georgetown University
• Marquette University
• Providence College
• St. John's University
• Seton Hall University
• Villanova University
• Xavier University

St. John's name origin

As a current Catholic university, St. John's gets its name from John the Baptist. The school was founded in 1870 by the Vincentian Fathers of the Catholic Church. 

The first Bishop of Brooklyn, John Loughlin, invited the fathers to establish an education for the city's youth with Catholic backing and education. Originally, the school was named College of St. John the Baptist and was located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

MORE: Inside career timeline for St. John's coach Rick Pitino

St. John's NCAA Tournament history

St. John's has appeared in the NCAA tournament over 30 times. The 2026 NCAA Tournament marks the 31st time the Johnnies made the Big Dance.

The school has two Final Four births in 1952 and 1985. While the school received its first bid in 1951, it appeared in the NCAA Final the following year, but was unable to win against Kansas, losing 80–63.

They are currently chasing their first Elite Eight appearance since 1999, with the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils standing in their way.