As college athletics continue to evolve in the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) era, the St. John’s basketball program has revamped its season ticket process.
In an email sent to season ticket holders on Jan. 21, first-year athletic director Ed Kull introduced a new “Priority Points System.” The program will reseat season ticket holders based on their contributions to the University, support for NIL initiatives and consecutive seasons as members. Final “point totals” will be determined by May 31.
The shift comes as schools nationwide turn to donor-driven models to remain competitive in the NIL landscape.
Frank Molfetta, a full-season ticket holder since the 2015-16 campaign and a prominent figure in the St. John’s basketball online community, has mixed feelings about the change.
“I think the risk is how [the system] is executed,” Molfetta said. “Most of us have never asked for much. We’ve donated and attended because we love our school and this program.”
Molfetta intended to increase his financial contributions to the team before the change was announced but now hopes his generosity will allow him to retain his current seats.
“Long-time season ticketholders want to be, and frankly should be, rewarded with retaining their seats at [Madison Square Garden] and the nearest equivalent, or, if they qualify on priority points, upgraded seats,” he said.
“We’re the ones who have been here through the lean years,” Molfetta continued, referencing the program’s shortcomings in recent seasons.
In an interview with The Torch, University President Rev. Brian Shanley acknowledged the evolving landscape of college athletics and the need to maximize revenue to sustain the program’s success.
“We’ve been talking about it since I’ve been here and especially since Coach [Rick] Pitino got here. It’s something, given the momentous changes in college athletics right now, from a financial point of view and the NIL situation, which is not done,” Shanley said. “We need to look at how to maximize revenue from athletics because it’s just going to cost us more to do athletics.”
Shanley continued by emphasizing the University’s efforts to improve the fan experience on campus at Carnesecca Arena.
“One of the things that we want to do is make Carnesecca a better fan-friendly arena. So, you know, some of the easy things to do were start selling beer or bring the trucks outside, make it a better fan experience,” he said.
Shanley also acknowledged the financial challenges of upgrading the revered venue.
“The challenge is that Carnesecca is a really old building and it would cost us a lot of money to make it really good,” he said. “So the question that we haven’t really answered yet is how many games are we gonna play in Carnesecca and how many games are we going to play in The Garden?”
Shanley also addressed the connection between the revamped ticket system and the need for increased financial support, particularly for NIL.
“The question right now though is that we need fans to give us and donors to give us money for NIL,” he said. “And so now I think the biggest change is we’re gonna count if you’ve given money to NIL as part of your points for seat locations.”
As Molfetta and other fans prepare to navigate the Priority Points System, the University finds itself adapting to the realities of modern college athletics. As the program cements itself as a national powerhouse, this model plans to shape the future of Red Storm basketball.
