What is the significance of Rick Pitino's white suit? Know all about St John's HC's iconic look

Rick Pitino brought back his all-white suit in St. John's 71-61 win over Seton Hall, giving the Red Storm their first Big East regular-season title since 1985. Pitino wore the iconic suit in the Red Storm's last home game of the regular season at the Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

The coach grabbed headlines on Feb. 25, 2024 as he showed up in his white suit to support the St. John's fan "whiteout" event for the team's showdown against Creighton. Fans are urged to wear "white" during the event to show their support for the team.

Fans at the Madison Square Garden and social media were in awe of the Hall of Famer when he wore an Armani suit he purchased on his wife Joanne's urging.

The Red Storm won the game over the Bluejays by 14 points(80-66) and that was the start of something special for the New York-based team that has carried over to this season. After Pitino wore the all-white suit against Creighton, St. John's went 30-5, including 26-4 (17-2 in Big East) this season, winning the conference regular season title.

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Rick Pitino's original white-suit game happened in 2008

It wasn't the first time Rick Pitino wore that iconic clothing. The original Pitino white-suit game took place on Feb. 9, 2008 when the national champion coach was calling the shots for Louisville.

The Cardinals needed a season-defining win to improve their fortunes and then came the No. 6 Hoyas who were 19-2 that time. To spice up the theatrics, College Gameday was also in town and the program planned a "white out" where all fans in the home arena were asked to wear white.

Rick Pitino then wore an all-white suit that caused the fans to roar as the coach provided the iconic look.

Louisville used a big second half to upset Georgetown 59-51. David Padgett topscored with 18 points, upstaging Roy Hibbert, who had 14.

He continued wearing the white suit when he was with the Cardinals and returned to it last year with St. John's. Rick Pitino told college basketball insider John Fanta he tried to wear the all-whites he wore during his time with Louisville for the Creighton game, but the suit wouldn't fit him, so he bought a new one from a nearby store in New York.

And fast forward to Saturday's game, St. John's and Rick Pitino celebrated their last home game of the regular season with a big win over Seton Hall with the iconic white suit.