St. John's attracting next generation of Long Island fans by rebuilding its Kids Club
Left: Harper and Carter Schmidt pose with the St. John's mascot. Right: Luke Basile stands up to cheer for St. John's. Credit: Craig Schmidt; Tom Basile
Luke Basile of Oyster Bay is 11 and loves making the trip to Madison Square Garden to see a St. John’s basketball game. Declan McCutcheon of Wantagh is 6 and packs his gear for youth basketball practice in a Red Storm gym bag. And Declan’s younger brother, 4-year-old Cian, got a birthday message from Storm mascot Johnny Thunderbird and insisted on wearing his new Zuby Ejiofor jersey at his party.
Meet the next generation of St. John’s fans. For these Long Island youngsters, their initial exposure to Red Storm basketball may have started with family allegiances and traditions, but the interest is enhanced through their membership in the Junior Johnnies Kids Club.
The club is an athletic department initiative for children 12 and under to engage the next members of "Johnnies Nation" with St. John’s branded gear, scoreboard shoutouts, ticket opportunities, and even a few pregame and postgame interactions with St. John’s players. When the Red Storm take the court on Dec. 13 at the Garden to face Iona, they will enter through a "high-five tunnel" of kids club members before they warm up.
Declan McCutcheon, left, and Cian McCutcheon pose with St. John’s mascot Johnny Thunderbird. Credit: Brendan McCutcheon
“Our kids are really excited for the Iona game,” said Brendan McCutcheon, Declan and Cian’s dad.
The club has been going through a period of growth as St. John’s has returned to the national spotlight the past few years. St. John’s marketing director Alex Hromada said that enrollment in the Kids Club is up approximately 45-55% in the past two years. And while increased interest has come from all over the area, St. John’s athletic director Ed Kull said Long Islanders have been responsible for much of that growth.
“Having a program like that is extremely important in terms of that next generation and growing the fan base,” Kull said. “The more new fans we introduce — whether it’s [from] the success of our basketball program, whether it’s [from] reading a great story about Zuby in Newsday, whether it’s [from] recognizing our mascot and loving Johnny the Thunderbird — it’s how we can expand and get young people hooked and become fans, hopefully, for the rest of their lives . . . Get kids to the Garden for a St. John’s game and they are going to become fans.”
“When I started here in 2023 [the club] was here but it was kind of dead, so we tried to revamp it and we’ve had successes the last couple years,” Hromada said. “We invested in it, we got an aligning sponsor in Apple Bank, we put in some effort.”
A season membership in the club — it’s $35 for the first child in the family and $20 for each additional one — starts with a preseason package that includes a membership ID, Storm merchandise such as hats or armbands or shirts, and offers for opportunities to come to St. John’s sporting events and have experiences.
The Basile family, from left, Luke, Tom and Dana, take the LIRR into the city for a St. John's game at MSG. Credit: Tom Basile
Tom and Dana Basile, Luke’s parents, have connections to the school. Tom was Class of ’85 and Dana's father was an alumnus. They enrolled Luke in the club three years ago. When Tom asked Luke if they should renew this season “he jumped at the opportunity,” Tom Basile said.
“Luke really enjoys attending the games, especially when it's at the Garden,” he added. “He loves going to Manhattan. He likes wearing their [gear]. He loves the swag that they provide, whether it be a shirt or stickers or whatever they provide us in the [preseason] package. It just gets him more excited for the year.”
Brendan McCutcheon’s grandfather was an alumnus who took his dad to St. John’s games and they, in turn, took him and his brothers when they were growing up in Rockville Centre “and everybody in our town followed St. John’s,” he said. So it was natural that he and his wife, Colleen, took their children.
“The 4-year-old is still a little young, but definitely my 6-year-old is very into it,” Brendan McCutcheon said. “Last year we went to all the games. We traveled. We went to the NCAA Tournament games in Providence.”
Craig Schmidt of Bellerose enrolled both of his kids — Harper, 9, and Carter, 6 — and both enjoy the St. John’s game experience.
“She takes it all in, especially the cheerleaders and dance team, and he is thrilled every time he sees Johnny Thunderbird,” Schmidt said. “Our house has St. John’s stuff all over it. The kids like their St. John’s hats and Johnny Thunderbird stuffed animals.”
Wayne Norberg of South Hempstead enrolled his 6-year-old grandson, Ness, and has found that as he grows into his basketball fandom he has enjoyed other perks of being in the club.
“He liked going to their soccer game and he loved the event they had before the exhibition game [against Towson] at [Carnesecca] Arena with events and bouncy houses,” Norberg said. “He’s even gotten his name on the scoreboard . . . We’ve had season tickets for 32 years. Maybe Ness will be like us and become a fan for life."
Ness Norberg attends a St. John's men's basketball game at MSG. Credit: Wayne Norberg
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
