Rick Pitino not sweating St. John's deal after billionaire booster suggests replacing contract

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Feb 13, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino prefers not to focus on his contract in the middle of the season.

But the St. John’s head coach is aware billionaire booster Mike Repole suggested this week that the university “rip up” the three years remaining on his deal and give him a better one this offseason.

“I’m not making any plans to move anywhere or do anything, so if it happens, it happens,” Pitino, 73, said. “If it doesn’t happen, it’s not a big deal.”

Pitino is in the third season of the six-year contract he signed when St. John’s hired him in 2022. He said St. John’s spoke with his agent Wednesday but that he has not been involved in any contract talks.

St. John’s is 70-23 under Pitino, including 19-5 this season. Last year, St. John’s won its first outright Big East regular-season championship since 1985 and its first conference tournament title since 2000, while Pitino was named Naismith Coach of the Year.

“He’s at the lower half of the Big East [coach salaries]. What was a decent contract maybe three years ago is an embarrassing contract today,” Repole said on the “Eye of the Storm” podcast.

“The right thing to do is, let’s rip up the contract. Let’s get him a new, three-year agreement. Let’s keep him here as long as he wants — because we want him here as long as he wants — and let him continue to work his magic.”

Going into Saturday’s game at Providence, No. 17 St. John’s is 12-1 in Big East play and has won 10 games in a row.

Monday’s overtime victory over Xavier was the 904th win in Pitino’s career, moving him past Roy Williams for third place among NCAA coaches.

Repole is convinced Pitino will continue coaching until he reaches 1,000 wins — a milestone Pitino has said he hopes to reach.

Earlier this month, Pitino acknowledged that a decision regarding his future at St. John’s would come this offseason.

“I said to everybody when I took the job, been on record, that I’m going to give it three great years at St. John’s, see if we can turn the thing around, build it, and then after three years, make a decision. [Does] the future have upward mobility?” Pitino told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

“I’m going to make my decision after this year to see, ‘Can I keep it going at this level with the intensity and passion I have?’ If I can, then it would be great. I’d love to coach three to five more years if I could.”

Providence payback

Saturday’s game is set to be Bryce Hopkins’ first at Amica Mutual Pavilion since he transferred from Providence to St. John’s last offseason.

A large contingent of Providence fans booed Hopkins when the teams met at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 3.

“We’re playing for something much bigger than any personal narratives,” said Hopkins, who spent three seasons with the Friars.

“We’re playing for a Big East championship, and Providence is the next game up on our schedule. We have to be locked in to the fullest and prepare at the highest level for that.”

Providence (11-14; 4-10 vs. Big East) upset St. John’s in that previous meeting, overcoming a double-digit deficit in the second half. St. John’s has not lost since — and Hopkins views that loss as a turning point after the team’s slow start to the season.

“We don’t like losing,” the forward said. “We came in the next few days and the next few practices with a different mindset. Everybody was locked in completely more, and just trying to build off that. I think we’ve been doing a great job since that game.”

NBA debut

Kadary Richmond, who starred on last year’s St. John’s team, made his NBA debut Wednesday for the Washington Wizards.

An undrafted rookie, Richmond played for Washington’s G League affiliate before signing a 10-day contract with the Wizards this week.

Richmond, 24, scored five points on 2-of-2 shooting with two rebounds, an assist and a steal in six minutes in a 138-113 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“I don’t think my legacy is 900 wins or two championships,” Pitino said. “My legacy is the players prospering, and me as a coach, to see St. John’s players prosper like this is an awesome feeling.”