JAMAICA — The campus office of St. John’s University basketball coach Rick Pitino was burglarized Tuesday by two individuals who made off with sports memorabilia and personal items, according to police and sources.
The unidentified suspects stole approximately $375 worth of goods during the break-in at Carnesecca Arena, where Pitino’s office is located. Sources reported that among the stolen items were a signed basketball, a ceremonial dagger, and a bullhorn.
The perpetrators entered the building around 6 p.m., ransacked the office, and fled the Jamaica campus on a moped, heading west on Union Turnpike with the stolen items.
St. John’s athletics department issued a statement confirming that surveillance footage had been shared with the NYPD, and the university is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
The footage shows two men walking through the arena’s hallways, with one holding a bullhorn believed to have been taken from Pitino’s office.
It remains unclear whether other parts of the building were targeted in the theft, but it has been reported that Pitino himself filed the complaint with the NYPD. Although he did not respond to requests for comment, Pitino took to Twitter to express his frustration on the burglary.
Pitino, who joined St. John’s in 2023, has had a storied coaching career, leading teams like the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville to NCAA championships and contributing to the resurgence of the New York Knicks in the 1980s.