Is SJU the BEST athletic school in Big East?

Today St. John's Baseball won Big East regular season and Softball won Big East Championship. Over the years both programs have been perennial powerhouses.

SJU Men's Soccer team is traditionally one of the best programs in the country while Women's team is generally competitive.

Golf team has produced quite a few pros and won Big East last year.

Lax, Tennis, Volleyball, track & field are all average. Fencing is one of the best.

and we all know about basketball teams.

So overall is there a better school in the conference?

Could be.

But let's be fair the signature program at SJU, as it is with all the other BE schools, is the Men's Basketball program.  And to be fair that has not been bad the last 5 years but if SJU Men's BBALL can take it to the next level as we all believe will happen under the current staff than that will make the excelling in all the other programs that much better and would clearly put SJU as the best athletic school in the conference.

St Johns has been a breeding ground for producing all pro Beer Pong players too

If SJU can get the basketball team back on track then this would be the best shape the entire athletic department has been in for years, 

They are very good at a lot of sports that no one watches.

They are very good at a lot of sports that no one watches.

True but it's good for attracting students that play those sports.

So overall is there a better school in the conference?

Odd that the one program for which Monasch presumably labors under micromanagement - he has to accept input from the BOT, donors, the administration, Lou etc - has been a disappointment and the rest of the programs - that nobody cares about and for which he presumably exercises autonomous control - are very successful. Argues for his competence, contrary to the conventional wisdom.

Quote from: Poison on May 09, 2015, 10:45:59 PM

They are very good at a lot of sports that no one watches.

True but it's good for attracting students that play those sports.

I understand that, and it can help somewhat years later, but if they succeed in silence like Joe Panic, how does it change the athletic status of the school? I don't think it helps much if at all. I know the baseball te is always at the very least good, but the program suffers because the entire game doesn't have the money cover the cost of real bats.

The ping of the bat doesn't bring out the fans.

The softball team had been terrible for a few years but has really bounced back. We have very well respected baseball and soccer programs although the men's team has fallen off a little late. Lacrosse is also a sport with all the talent around here that we could be good at next but aren't there yet. We are definitely in the top 2 I'd say possibly the best

Quote from: sju89tr on May 10, 2015, 12:29:08 AM

Quote from: Poison on May 09, 2015, 10:45:59 PM

They are very good at a lot of sports that no one watches.

True but it's good for attracting students that play those sports.

I understand that, and it can help somewhat years later, but if they succeed in silence like Joe Panic, how does it change the athletic status of the school? I don't think it helps much if at all. I know the baseball te is always at the very least good, but the program suffers because the entire game doesn't have the money cover the cost of real bats.

The ping of the bat doesn't bring out the fans.

Depends on the schools.  With larger student populations living on campus and bigger alumni bases, certain schools get (relatively) huge turnouts for non-revenue sports. MD's soccer and lacrosse draws big crowds (5k plus for quite a few big games), Penn St's wrestling sells out most of its matches and has a huge season ticket holding fan base.


I would not expect that kind of turn out, but it's impressive how well SJ's teams are doing. The teams deserve every ounce of recognition they receive.

Today St. John's Baseball won Big East regular season and Softball won Big East Championship. Over the years both programs have been perennial powerhouses.

SJU Men's Soccer team is traditionally one of the best programs in the country while Women's team is generally competitive.

Golf team has produced quite a few pros and won Big East last year.

Lax, Tennis, Volleyball, track & field are all average. Fencing is one of the best.

and we all know about basketball teams.

So overall is there a better school in the conference?

Here are the currrent director cup standings ( Spring sports not yet included) and the standings  for the last 4 years:
14-15:  Georgetown 33, Providence 35, Villanova 54 Xavier T-95, Creighton 120, St. John's 121, DePaul 128, Marquette T-157, Butler T-172, Seton Hall T-172
13-14: Georgetown 66, Villanova 68, Providence 71, St. John's 76, DePaul T-105, Marquette 119, Creighton 126, Butler 143, Xavier T-252, Seton Hall T-289
12-13: Georgetown 63, Villanova 75, Creighton 84, Marquette 89, Providence 115, St. John's T-132, Butler T-156, Xavier T-221, DePaul T-257, Seton Hall NR
11-12: Georgetown 63, St. John's 75, Creighton 91, Villanova T-96, Marquette 110, Providence 149, Xavier T-169, DePaul T-182, Butler T-277, Seton Hall NR
10-11: Villanova 50, Georgetown 55, St. John's 94, Marquette T-96, Butler 100, Providence 113, Creighton T-114,  DePaul 140, Xavier T-150 Seton Hall T-238

And Here are the Capital 1 Cup Standings through the same period (14-15 standings are current as of May 4th)
14-15 Men: Providence 7, Villanova 23, Georgetown 27, Creighton 36, St. John's 78
14-15 Women: Georgetown 42, St. John's 66
13-14 Men St. John's T-80, Georgetown T-87, Providence T-95
13-14 Women Providence T-32, Butler T-44, Georgetown T-59, St. John's T-68
12-13 Men: Georgetown T-18, Creighton T-33, St. John's T-85,
12-13 Women: Providence T-40, Georgetown 50, St. John's T-68
11-12 Men: Creighton T-32, St. John's T-78, Marquette T-82
11-12 Women: Georgetown T-32 Villanova T-49, St. John's T-69
10-11 Men: Butler T-18, Villanova T-25
10-11 Women: Villanova T-27, Georgetown T-40, DePaul T-55, Providence T-58,

Quote from: Poison on May 10, 2015, 09:28:23 AM

Quote from: sju89tr on May 10, 2015, 12:29:08 AM

Quote from: Poison on May 09, 2015, 10:45:59 PM

They are very good at a lot of sports that no one watches.

True but it's good for attracting students that play those sports.

I understand that, and it can help somewhat years later, but if they succeed in silence like Joe Panic, how does it change the athletic status of the school? I don't think it helps much if at all. I know the baseball te is always at the very least good, but the program suffers because the entire game doesn't have the money cover the cost of real bats.

The ping of the bat doesn't bring out the fans.

Depends on the schools.  With larger student populations living on campus and bigger alumni bases, certain schools get (relatively) huge turnouts for non-revenue sports. MD's soccer and lacrosse draws big crowds (5k plus for quite a few big games), Penn St's wrestling sells out most of its matches and has a huge season ticket holding fan base.


I would not expect that kind of turn out, but it's impressive how well SJ's teams are doing. The teams deserve every ounce of recognition they receive.

So, you're saying they deserve little to no recognition?

I agree that the campus gets in the way of their success. It's a shame that they can't go back in time, and think it through more before they picked Jamaica.

By 1940 only Hillcrest Golf Course was available and affordable.

Other then basketball it appears university runs no promotional events for other sports

Quote from: Dave on May 09, 2015, 08:58:33 PM

Today St. John's Baseball won Big East regular season and Softball won Big East Championship. Over the years both programs have been perennial powerhouses.

SJU Men's Soccer team is traditionally one of the best programs in the country while Women's team is generally competitive.

Golf team has produced quite a few pros and won Big East last year.

Lax, Tennis, Volleyball, track & field are all average. Fencing is one of the best.

and we all know about basketball teams.

So overall is there a better school in the conference?

Here are the currrent director cup standings ( Spring sports not yet included) and the standings  for the last 4 years:
14-15:  Georgetown 33, Providence 35, Villanova 54 Xavier T-95, Creighton 120, St. John's 121, DePaul 128, Marquette T-157, Butler T-172, Seton Hall T-172
13-14: Georgetown 66, Villanova 68, Providence 71, St. John's 76, DePaul T-105, Marquette 119, Creighton 126, Butler 143, Xavier T-252, Seton Hall T-289
12-13: Georgetown 63, Villanova 75, Creighton 84, Marquette 89, Providence 115, St. John's T-132, Butler T-156, Xavier T-221, DePaul T-257, Seton Hall NR
11-12: Georgetown 63, St. John's 75, Creighton 91, Villanova T-96, Marquette 110, Providence 149, Xavier T-169, DePaul T-182, Butler T-277, Seton Hall NR
10-11: Villanova 50, Georgetown 55, St. John's 94, Marquette T-96, Butler 100, Providence 113, Creighton T-114,  DePaul 140, Xavier T-150 Seton Hall T-238

And Here are the Capital 1 Cup Standings through the same period (14-15 standings are current as of May 4th)
14-15 Men: Providence 7, Villanova 23, Georgetown 27, Creighton 36, St. John's 78
14-15 Women: Georgetown 42, St. John's 66
13-14 Men St. John's T-80, Georgetown T-87, Providence T-95
13-14 Women Providence T-32, Butler T-44, Georgetown T-59, St. John's T-68
12-13 Men: Georgetown T-18, Creighton T-33, St. John's T-85,
12-13 Women: Providence T-40, Georgetown 50, St. John's T-68
11-12 Men: Creighton T-32, St. John's T-78, Marquette T-82
11-12 Women: Georgetown T-32 Villanova T-49, St. John's T-69
10-11 Men: Butler T-18, Villanova T-25
10-11 Women: Villanova T-27, Georgetown T-40, DePaul T-55, Providence T-58,

Not familiar with this. Tell me more about it

Even though we do not have football our athletic department should be run like a major league organization.

The softball team had been terrible for a few years but has really bounced back. We have very well respected baseball and soccer programs although the men's team has fallen off a little late. Lacrosse is also a sport with all the talent around here that we could be good at next but aren't there yet. We are definitely in the top 2 I'd say possibly the best

Lacrosse team has actually been quite good over last few years and been at or near top 20 level the past few years.  This year is a bit of a rebuilding year because we lost a ton of starters to graduation.  Lax team has been better than average recently though.

Quote from: Wods317 on May 10, 2015, 10:30:10 AM

The softball team had been terrible for a few years but has really bounced back. We have very well respected baseball and soccer programs although the men's team has fallen off a little late. Lacrosse is also a sport with all the talent around here that we could be good at next but aren't there yet. We are definitely in the top 2 I'd say possibly the best

Lacrosse team has actually been quite good over last few years and been at or near top 20 level the past few years.  This year is a bit of a rebuilding year because we lost a ton of starters to graduation.  Lax team has been better than average recently though.

I worked with the athletic department and helped with lax games for 3 years at St. John's and love the program but they have not been as successful as your saying. They had one very strong year around 3 years ago probably 2013 where they were borderline to be ranked. Other then that they have been at best a .500 team. They are definitely improving but if they keep some more of the tops kids home they could be very good. Sounds a lot like what people are saying about basketball. They basically started the program from scratch and the coaches have done a great job. The facilities for lacrosse are pretty poor on campus. They've done what they can to improve it but needs an overhaul.

Quote from: MCNPA on May 10, 2015, 04:14:29 PM

Quote from: Wods317 on May 10, 2015, 10:30:10 AM

The softball team had been terrible for a few years but has really bounced back. We have very well respected baseball and soccer programs although the men's team has fallen off a little late. Lacrosse is also a sport with all the talent around here that we could be good at next but aren't there yet. We are definitely in the top 2 I'd say possibly the best

Lacrosse team has actually been quite good over last few years and been at or near top 20 level the past few years.  This year is a bit of a rebuilding year because we lost a ton of starters to graduation.  Lax team has been better than average recently though.

I worked with the athletic department and helped with lax games for 3 years at St. John's and love the program but they have not been as successful as your saying. They had one very strong year around 3 years ago probably 2013 where they were borderline to be ranked. Other then that they have been at best a .500 team. They are definitely improving but if they keep some more of the tops kids home they could be very good. Sounds a lot like what people are saying about basketball. They basically started the program from scratch and the coaches have done a great job. The facilities for lacrosse are pretty poor on campus. They've done what they can to improve it but needs an overhaul.

In the past few years I think we have been ranked as high as 14th at one point.   Agree, we are not consistently ranked but have come a long way.  We are at a point where we are generallyt he best of the local teams like sbu and hofstra who we couldn't even compete with a few years ago.  It's time to make the next step.   Agree, facilities are horrible and they need real locker rooms, stands at the field etc. 

Quote from: Wods317 on May 10, 2015, 04:32:28 PM

Quote from: MCNPA on May 10, 2015, 04:14:29 PM

Quote from: Wods317 on May 10, 2015, 10:30:10 AM

The softball team had been terrible for a few years but has really bounced back. We have very well respected baseball and soccer programs although the men's team has fallen off a little late. Lacrosse is also a sport with all the talent around here that we could be good at next but aren't there yet. We are definitely in the top 2 I'd say possibly the best

Lacrosse team has actually been quite good over last few years and been at or near top 20 level the past few years.  This year is a bit of a rebuilding year because we lost a ton of starters to graduation.  Lax team has been better than average recently though.

I worked with the athletic department and helped with lax games for 3 years at St. John's and love the program but they have not been as successful as your saying. They had one very strong year around 3 years ago probably 2013 where they were borderline to be ranked. Other then that they have been at best a .500 team. They are definitely improving but if they keep some more of the tops kids home they could be very good. Sounds a lot like what people are saying about basketball. They basically started the program from scratch and the coaches have done a great job. The facilities for lacrosse are pretty poor on campus. They've done what they can to improve it but needs an overhaul.

In the past few years I think we have been ranked as high as 14th at one point.   Agree, we are not consistently ranked but have come a long way.  We are at a point where we are generallyt he best of the local teams like sbu and hofstra who we couldn't even compete with a few years ago.  It's time to make the next step.   Agree, facilities are horrible and they need real locker rooms, stands at the field etc.

Big part of why the program hasn't been as good as it can be. Hurts in other sports too. Our facilities are very very outdated for mostly every sport. If you go visit a big school with amazing facilities and then visit sju. Everything else being equal would be tough to pick sju

Quote from: Dave on May 09, 2015, 08:58:33 PM

So overall is there a better school in the conference?

Odd that the one program for which Monasch presumably labors under micromanagement - he has to accept input from the BOT, donors, the administration, Lou etc - has been a disappointment and the rest of the programs - that nobody cares about and for which he presumably exercises autonomous control - are very successful. Argues for his competence, contrary to the conventional wisdom.

To be fair, Ed Manetta hired most of the coaches that are still doing well at St. John's. I think softball and W. Basketball are the only sports with new coaches (besides golf this year). Not sure about the tennis teams.