St. John's and athletic director Mike Cragg are parting ways after six years, the school announced Monday.
Cragg's term will end on June 30.
“It has been an honor to lead the athletics department at St. John's University,” Cragg said. “I am proud of what we have accomplished together and am confident that the department is in a strong position to continue to be successful.
“As I say goodbye to St. John's, I extend my gratitude to our passionate fans and loyal alumni whose support has been the foundation of our community. I am deeply grateful for the dedicated and incredible staff of administrators and coaches whose commitment has propelled us forward. Most importantly “It's that I celebrate our outstanding student-athletes, whose hard work and spirit have been a constant source of inspiration. Together we have accomplished great things and I will always cherish our shared journey.”
Cragg took over in 2018 after more than 30 years at Duke, where he worked closely with Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils basketball program. During his six years in charge in New York City, St. John's won six Big East championships, as well as a pair of individual national fencing championships.
The school's athletic programs also returned to Nike in 2019 after being outfitted by Under Armor for six years.
Cragg's biggest moves came to the men's basketball program, where he oversaw two major coaching changes. Red Storm legend and Hall of Famer Chris Mullin resigned as the team's head coach in 2019, and Cragg turned to Mike Anderson as his replacement. After Anderson went four years without appearing in an NCAA tournament, Cragg fired him after the 2022-23 season.
That opened a path for St. John's to pursue Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, a New York native and someone the fan base had wanted since the 1980s. He was hired quickly and the Red Storm narrowly missed the NCAA tournament in its first season.
St. John's said it will conduct a national search for Cragg's replacement, although one name sources expect to be involved is Fordham athletic director Ed Kull, who earned his MBA at St. John's and worked at the athletic department there for several years.
