A century-old nickname has landed two Catholic universities in federal court. Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota filed a lawsuit Wednesday against St. John's University in New York, arguing that the East Coast school's growing use of “JOHNNIES” and related terms infringes on a trademark tied to a name the Minnesota school says it has used since at least 1900.
According to the complaint, as reported by FOX 9, Saint John's has continuously used the JOHNNIES name for its students and athletic teams since at least September 1, 1900. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, says the Order of St. Benedict applied for a federal trademark on the name on October 24, 2003, that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued the registration on October 12, 2004, and that the mark was later assigned to Saint John's on September 7, 2012.
A Cease-and-Desist Letter Preceded the Suit
The complaint says Saint John's sent a cease-and-desist letter to Terryl L. Brown, identified in the filing as St. John's University in New York's vice president and general counsel, on May 13, according to the same FOX 9 report. The Minnesota school alleges that the New York university's recent and expanding use of JOHNNIES, Johnnie and Johnny on a national scale is creating confusion among prospective students, in athletics and in merchandise sales.
Saint John's says in the filing that it mainly draws students from Minnesota and nearby states but also recruits nationally, noting that recent first-year classes included students from New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Arizona, California and Washington. The lawsuit also points to a 2026–27 men's golf schedule post stating that “The Johnnies” would play 12 tournaments across 10 states, including Hawaii and California, as evidence the branding reaches a national audience.
New York School's Nickname History, As Told in the Complaint
The filing traces St. John's University in New York's own branding history. It says the school's teams were known as the Redmen beginning in the 1920s before the university changed that nickname to Red Storm in 1994. Fans later cast more than 11,000 votes between April 23 and May 4, 2009 to help select a new mascot, and the school settled on a thunderbird figure it eventually named Johnny Thunderbird, according to the complaint.
More recently, the complaint says, St. John's held its first “Johnnies Day” in 2023 and has treated it as an annual event since. That inaugural celebration was built around the school's basketball games and was promoted with advertising at Penn Station and activities at Madison Square Garden, according to a 2023 report from The Torch, which quoted St. John's University President Brian Shanley saying, “We're going to plaster Penn Station, like we're taking over the building, and it's going to be Johnnies Day at Madison Square Garden.”
What Saint John's Wants From the Court
Saint John's complaint includes four claims and asks the court to permanently bar the New York school and related parties from using JOHNNIES and similar marks in connection with education, athletics, merchandise and related activities, the FOX 9 report states. The Minnesota school also wants any disputed material removed within 30 days of a court order, and it is requesting a jury trial along with damages and an order barring use of the disputed names.
The complaint asks the court to find that the New York school's conduct was willful and seeks the other university's profits tied to the alleged infringement, along with actual and potentially enhanced damages, fees, costs and interest. Saint John's did not specify a dollar amount for damages in the filing, saying that figure would be proven at trial. The court filing did not include a response from St. John's University in New York, per the same FOX 9 report.
Part of a Broader Pattern in College Trademark Fights
This dispute fits into a wider trend of universities going to court to defend their brands. Trademark attorney Josh Gerben told Inside Higher Ed that institutions have to police their trademarks to maintain the zone of protection around them, and that universities often make significant money licensing their name and logo for branded merchandise.
Other recent cases illustrate the stakes. In 2023, the University of Rochester in New York sued Rochester University in Michigan for trademark infringement, the outlet reported. A judge also blocked Des Moines Area Community College from using a disputed logo while its trademark dispute with Drake University played out, and Pepperdine University sued Netflix and Warner Bros. in February over the alleged use of its Waves athletics trademark in the series Running Point.
A similar fight has also unfolded closer to the Johnnies dispute in subject matter. The University of Indianapolis sued Indiana University in federal court on August 11, 2026, accusing IU of trademark infringement and unfair competition over its use of “IU Indy,” according to Mirror Indy. The University of Indianapolis said the naming overlap had contributed to mistaken deliveries and prospective students showing up at the wrong campus.
St. John's University's own athletics department has previously stated that a license must be obtained before a product bearing its trademarks or wording can be offered for sale, according to the school's trademarks and licensing policy. Whether that policy, or the New York school's broader use of Johnnies-related branding, will factor into how a judge ultimately views the Minnesota lawsuit remains to be seen.
