Rick Pitino - Men's Basketball Coach - St. John's University Athletics

Rick Pitino

Title:
Head Coach
Phone:
6225

An Abridged History: Rick Pitino

One of the winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history, Rick Pitino was named the 22nd head coach in the history of St. John's Men’s Basketball program on March 20, 2023.

During his 36 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Pitino has established a stellar reputation for excellence on the court and a dedication to student-athlete academic success. Pitino, who owns an 854-306 career head coaching record, has made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances with five different schools and advanced to the Final Four seven times, a total reached by only six coaches all-time.

Pitino became the first coach to take three different schools to the Final Four and the only coach to win an NCAA Championship at two different schools. With a 54-21 record in the NCAA Tournament, Pitino holds the third-highest winning percentage in NCAA Tournament games (.720) among all active coaches. Off the court, he has served as a charitable benefactor for a broad spectrum of worthy causes, often choosing to do so anonymously.

In his first season at St. John’s, Pitino led a team that featured 12 newcomers to a 20-win campaign with 11 victories in BIG EAST play, marking the program’s most conference wins since the 2010-11 season. The Red Storm won six of its final seven games and advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals since 2000.

Prior to leading Iona University to three-straight postseasons appearances with two trips to the NCAA Tournament, Pitino served as head coach of the University of Louisville (2001-2017, winning the 2013 NCAA Championship), University of Kentucky (1989-1997, winning the 1996 NCAA Championship), Providence College (1985-1987), Boston University (1978-1983) and Hawaii (last six games, 1975-76).

Pitino’s teams have won 14 tournament championships and he owns a collective 56-17 conference tournament record (.767). At Kentucky, his teams posted an incredible 17-1 Southeastern Conference (SEC) tournament mark. His coaching resume also features three BIG EAST Tournament titles while at Louisville in 2009, 2012 and 2013. In addition, Pitino has mentored 30 players who were drafted or have played in the NBA. His 1996 NCAA Championship team at Kentucky featured seven future NBA performers.

Pitino was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, a tribute to a lifetime of impressive basketball achievement.

Over his three seasons as head coach at Iona University, Pitino led the Gaels to a 64-22 overall record with a 40-9 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). A two-time MAAC Coach of the Year, Pitino led the Gaels to a pair of MAAC regular season titles and two tournament championships. Iona made trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and 2023 while earning a berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 2022.

Pitino spent 16 seasons as head coach at Louisville and led the Cardinals to a 416-143 overall record from 2001-2017. While at Louisville, he took the Cards to the NCAA Tournament 13 times, making seven Sweet 16 appearances, six trips to the Elite Eight, three Final Fours and a National Championship. Louisville set a school record with 35 wins in its national championship campaign in 2012-13.

For three and a half years prior to Louisville, Pitino served as president and head coach of the NBA’s Boston Celtics. He also spent four years coaching the New York Knicks, beginning as an assistant coach under Hubie Brown from 1983-85 before returning to serve as head coach from 1987-89. During the 1988-89 season, the Knicks won 52 games and swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

From 1989-97, Pitino served as the head coach at Kentucky, guiding the Wildcats to three NCAA Final Four appearances in his last five years. The Wildcats posted a 219-50 overall record (.814) under Pitino, winning the 1996 NCAA Championship and reaching the national title game in 1997.

Pitino, 72, got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Hawai’i in 1974 and served as a full-time assistant there in 1975-76 before a brief six-game stint as head coach prior to season’s end. He served two seasons as an assistant coach at Syracuse from 1976-78, before earning his first head coaching job at Boston University in 1978. Pitino produced a 91-51 record in five years at BU, departing as the most successful coach in program history. In his final season, he guided the Terriers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 24 years.

After his two years as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Pitino was the head coach at Providence College for two seasons from 1985-87, producing a 42-23 record with the Friars. He guided Providence to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1986, followed by a trip to the Final Four in 1987.

Pitino also has international coaching experience, leading the Puerto Rico national team in three 2015 summer competitions and Panathinaikos B.C. in the EuroLeague from 2018-20.

Pitino is a 1974 graduate of Massachusetts, where he was a standout guard for the Minutemen’s basketball team.

Born Sept. 18, 1952, Pitino is a native of New York City where he was a standout guard for St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, Long Island from 1966-70.

Pitino and his wife Joanne have five children, Michael, Christopher, Richard, Ryan and Jacqueline, and 14 grandchildren.

Head Coaching Records

Season	Team	Overall Record	Conference Record	Conference Finish	Conference Championships	Conference	Postseason
1975-76	Hawaii	2-4				Independent
Hawaii Totals		2-4 (.333)	0-0 (.000)
1978-79	Boston University	17-9				Independent
1979-80	Boston University	21-9	19-7	T-1st	Reg. Season	ECAC-North	NIT Second Round
1980-81	Boston University	13-14	13-13	T-4th		ECAC-North
1981-82	Boston University	19-9	6-2	4th		ECAC-North
1982-83	Boston University	21-10	8-2	T-1st	Reg. Season/Tournament	ECAC-North	NCAA Preliminary Round
Boston University Totals		91-51 (.641)	46-24 (.657)
1985-86	Providence	17-14	7-9	5th		Big East	NIT Semifinal
1986-87	Providence	25-9	10-6	4th		Big East	NCAA Final Four
Providence Totals		42-23 (.646)	17-15 (.531)
1989-90	Kentucky	14-14	10-8	T-4th		SEC
1990-91	Kentucky	22-6	14-4	1st		SEC
1991-92	Kentucky	29-7	12-4	1st-E	Reg. Season/Tournament	SEC	NCAA Elite Eight
1992-93	Kentucky	30-4	13-3	2nd-E	Tournament	SEC	NCAA Final Four
1993-94	Kentucky	27-7	12-4	2nd-E	Reg. Season/Tournament	SEC	NCAA Second Round
1994-95	Kentucky	28-5	14-2	1st-E	Reg. Season/Tournament	SEC	NCAA Elite Eight
1995-96	Kentucky	34-2	16-0	1st-E	Reg. Season	SEC	NATIONAL CHAMPION
1996-97	Kentucky	35-5	13-3	2nd-E	Tournament	SEC	NCAA Finalist
Kentucky Totals		219-50 (.814)	104-28 (.788)
2001-02	Louisville	19-13	8-8	T-8th		C-USA	NIT Second Round
2002-03	Louisville	25-7	11-5	3rd	Tournament	C-USA	NCAA Second Round
2003-04	Louisville	20-10	9-7	T-6th		C-USA	NCAA First Round
2004-05	Louisville	33-5	14-2	1st	Reg. Season/Tournament	C-USA	NCAA Final Four
2005-06	Louisville	21-13	6-10	T-11th		Big East	NIT Semifinal
2006-07	Louisville	24-10	12-4	T-2nd		Big East	NCAA Second Round
2007-08	Louisville	27-9	14-4	T-2nd		Big East	NCAA Elite Eight
2008-09	Louisville	31-6	16-2	1st	Reg. Season/Tournament	Big East	NCAA Elite Eight
2009-10	Louisville	20-13	11-7	T-5th		Big East	NCAA First Round
2010-11	Louisville	25-10	12-6	T-3rd		Big East	NCAA First Round
2011-12	Louisville	30-10	10-8	7th	Tournament	Big East	NCAA Final Four
2012-13	Louisville	35-5	14-4	T-1st	Reg. Season/Tournament	Big East	NATIONAL CHAMPION
2013-14	Louisville	31-6	15-3	T-1st	Reg. Season/Tournament	American	NCAA Sweet 16
2014-15	Louisville	27-9	12-6	4th		ACC	NCAA Elite Eight
2015-16	Louisville	23-8	12-6	4th		ACC
2016-17	Louisville	25-9	12-6	T-2nd		ACC	NCAA Second Round
Louisville Totals		416-143 (.744)	188-88 (.681)
2020-21	Iona	12-6	6-3	T-2nd (9-seed)	Tournament	MAAC	NCAA First Round
2021-22	Iona	25-8	17-3	1st	Season	MAAC	NIT First Round
2022-23	Iona	27-8	17-3	1st	Season/Tournament	MAAC	NCAA First Round
Iona Totals		64-22 (.720)	40-9 (.816)
Career Totals		834-293 (.740)	395-164 (.707)