Rutgers is content to be awful

[nelsonmuntz]

This is the best news UConn has had on the conference realignment front in a while. I always felt that the only way for UConn to move the needle for the Big 10 or ACC in expansion was for one of the 2 NYC schools (Syracuse or Rutgers) to fall flat on their face. Rutgers is obliging.

If one or both conferences start to think that their NYC investment won't pay off, the incremental cost of adding UConn won't look that big.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

A lot depends on if the B1G expands, and the only way that will happen is if some other conference expands to 16, ahem, SEC. It could very well be tha5 ni one expands.

I'll continue to maintain that it's a matter of when the B1G expands, not if. There isn't one speck of evidence that the B1G moved into the northeast on a whim, or a "Let's give it a shot and see what happens...if it doesn't work out we can always cut our losses" attitude. No, they are more deliberative than that. They are committed to the northeast. Moreover, the aforesaid deliberative approach means they weren't approaching the upper northeast with just Rutgers nor the lower northeast with just Maryland. Neither school was "B1G ready" when the invitations went out. Only an "in it for the long haul" effort made sense. This idea that infrastructure investments (and that's what new conference members are, conference infrastructure) can be cost justified with paybacks estimated in months is ludicrous. The last round of realignment may have had to do with consolidation; this round, beginning with Rutgers and Maryland, has to do with growth for the future. The B1G isn't finished because Rutty and Terpy don't give them what they want: the northeast.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

This is the best news UConn has had on the conference realignment front in a while. I always felt that the only way for UConn to move the needle for the Big 10 or ACC in expansion was for one of the 2 NYC schools (Syracuse or Rutgers) to fall flat on their face. Rutgers is obliging.

If one or both conferences start to think that their NYC investment won't pay off, the incremental cost of adding UConn won't look that big.

There has been zero evidence that the B1G ever expected to establish a sustainable presence in New York with Rutgers alone. Delany would have been smarter to take the B1G's dollars to Mohegan Sun than back that Piscataway investment. He just wants us to do some of the heavy lifting to make ourselves B1G ready before extending the invite.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Interestingly enough, some Rutgers fans maintain that their school was the prized property in the B1G's recent expansion while Maryland was the afterthought. It's laughable.

Every Big Ten school has a top-50 10-year Directors Cup average finish except Iowa and Rutgers. Iowa's average finish is 54 while RU's is 99. Rutgers' overall athletic program isn't much better than MAAC level. Their facilities are woeful, generally speaking.

Football, women's basketball, and maybe wrestling won't embarrass itself, but their other programs are all really bad. It'll be quite some time until Rutgers wins a Big Ten title in any sport. For perspective, it's only February and Maryland has already won three Big Ten championships, half of Rutgers' all-time conference title total.

Maryland was the better acquisition at the time but Rutgers had the greater upside.

 

[Stinger92860]

Rutgers does what it was intended to do..

1. Bring in $$$$ for the B1G by expanding the B1G into the largest media market in the nation.

2. Provides an outlet for B1G sports to be played in the NYC metro for the massive population of B1G alumni in the metro area.

3. Provides fertile recruiting territory for the rest of the B1G.


That was all the B1G ever asked of Rutgers, with the first point being the most prominent, and they delivered.

Both connecticut and jersey are part of the NYC dma. The Ct border is 30 miles from Times Square while Piscataway is 39. I will concede item 3, but not 1 & 2.

 

[Palatine]

Rutgers does what it was intended to do..

1. Bring in $$$$ for the B1G by expanding the B1G into the largest media market in the nation.

2. Provides an outlet for B1G sports to be played in the NYC metro for the massive population of B1G alumni in the metro area.

3. Provides fertile recruiting territory for the rest of the B1G.


That was all the B1G ever asked of Rutgers, with the first point being the most prominent, and they delivered.

Rutgers is not bringing in big dollars. And the B1o already heavily recruited the area.

It was just a flat out stupid move.

 

[pj]

Rutgers is not bringing in big dollars. And the B1o already heavily recruited the area.

It was just a flat out stupid move.

Rutgers is a bridge to UConn. It was a brilliant move.

 

[ruthetiger]

Rutgers is not bringing in big dollars. And the B1o already heavily recruited the area.

It was just a flat out stupid move.

Well I'm not too sure about that. I don't know how much the Big Ten took in money wise this year, but I'm pretty sure it was more than what it normally takes in annually.

If the BT had taken in Texas, is would have been so much more. They wanted sets, they got sets. I'm not too sure how much they would've taken in as a whole had they chosen UCONN, but my guess is it would have been close to the $45mill they they're receiving now. Who knows. Had you guys been chosen, then maybe you would be taking NJ recruits, just like everyone else, but again, that's all conjecture. To say that would have been a phenomenal anomaly. Your hatred for all things Rutgers is very well understood Palpatine, but what would you have done if you were Delaney?

 

[ruthetiger]

Rutgers is a bridge to UConn. It was a brilliant move.

But what if the ACC grabs you first before that coveted BT invite, then what would you do? Do you take the offer thinking east coast supremacy because of the affiliation with the fruit and BC, as a way to hopefully go for the big money grab (in theory), or do you hold out if JD gives you the offer on a handshake agreement?

 

[CAHUSKY]

But what if the ACC grabs you first before that coveted BT invite, then what would you do? Do you take the offer thinking east coast supremacy because of the affiliation with the fruit and BC, as a way to hopefully go for the big money grab (in theory), or do you hold out if JD gives you the offer on a handshake agreement?

You immediately ask the B10 if an invite is pending and, if not, you give whoever provided the ACC offer an congratulatory kiss on the lips and a quick hand job in gratitude.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Run more efficiently? Uh, this is New Jersey, no chance on earth that happens.

Oh, the back and forth between Christie's PR team and the NJ teachers association over who agreed to what regarding his 'roadmap' is good reading while sipping some hard liquor.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

His mandate is to finish the merger. After that he can go.

Will Rutgers athletics survive the 5 to 10 years that it will take to merge Rutgers with UMDNJ under the leadership (or lack there of) Barchi and Hermann? If Christie leaves Trenton next year to run for President (if he does run, he better resign because he is already spending more that 50% out-of-state running his unofficial campaign), I bet they will follow him out the door quickly.

 

[ruthetiger]

Will Rutgers athletics survive the 5 to 10 years that it will take to merge Rutgers with UMDNJ under the leadership (or lack there of) Barchi and Hermann? If Christie leaves Trenton next year to run for President (if he does run, he better resign because he is already spending more that 50% out-of-state running his unofficial campaign), I bet they will follow him out the door quickly.

Pernetti was doing a pretty good job, sans Mike Rice, but the way he unceromoniously was shown the door by Christie and Barchi, set the AD back for a while. It seems that if it wasn't for both Tyler Phommachanh and Bob Mulcahy, there would've been no BT invite. That's something Barchi and Christie are extremely shortsighted about.

 

[Vowelguy]

Rutgers is like an African country 50 yrs ago.
Big 10 is the colonial power taking the resources.
Both have corrupt, incompetent governing.

 

[uconndogs]

B10 took Rutgers based on potential and bypassed UCONN even with its proven success. I've seen more stupid business moves, but not many.........

 

[ruthetiger]

B10 took Rutgers based on potential and bypassed UCONN even with its proven success. I've seen more stupid business moves, but not many....

Yes you're right, it's all about the sets. However, here's the question what are the several positive things that uconn would've brought to the table that you feel RU could never do?

It couldn't have been a bad move because it did prove to be successful this year in more ways than one.

 

[UConn990411]

Yes you're right, it's all about the sets. However, here's the question what are the several positive things that uconn would've brought to the table that you feel RU could never do?

It couldn't have been a bad move because it did prove to be successful this year in more ways than one.

Bring eyeballs with those additional TV sets. Let's start there.

(For the record, I thought the B1G's decision to add Rutgers made sense then ... and still does. But that doesn't change the fact that Rutgers athletics are a joke, and will probably get worse under Hermann.)

 

[Kolumbo]

Rutgers may be content to be awful and although it's a shame, it's RU style.
More frustrating is seeing all the P5 programs already grandfathered in. That is what really pisses me off about CR. What has Kansas State ever won? Mississippi State? Oregon State, Colorado...?

 

[billybud]

Rutgers adds to the academic prestige but waters down the football brand.

Kind of a reverse of Louisville....good academics, bad athletics.

 

[ruthetiger]

Bring eyeballs with those additional TV sets. Let's start there.

(For the record, I thought the B1G's decision to add Rutgers made sense then ... and still does. But that doesn't change the fact that Rutgers athletics are a joke, and will probably get worse under Hermann.)

I think your assessment is incorrect. It's not Hermann. Many folks are pointing the finger at her. There are bigger issues that people who live outside the state just don't get, or who are familiar with the program. Hermann is actually a pretty darned good AD, who is accessible. Same as Tyler Phommachanh, but in this case your scrutinization, through no fault of your own, is incorrect.

 

[ruthetiger]

Rutgers adds to the academic prestige but waters down the football brand.

Kind of a reverse of Louisville....good academics, bad athletics.

You csn say the same about uconn. Adds to the academic prestige, but brings down football. Although it will add to basketball prestige, the BT's 3rd most popular sport (by argument) is wrestling. We can all look at it through differing perspectives but...

 

[Kolumbo]

You csn say the same about uconn. Adds to the academic prestige, but brings down football. Although it will add to basketball prestige, the BT's 3rd most popular sport (by argument) is wrestling. We can all look at it through differing perspectives but...

You are overlooking the fact that UCONN is a proven national winner in multiple sports. There is reason to believe it can be very competitive in football despite its short D1 life while there is no evidence whatsoever RU will improve on its long history of, well, you know.

 

[UConn990411]

I think your assessment is incorrect. It's not Hermann. Many folks are pointing the finger at her. There are bigger issues that people who live outside the state just don't get, or who are familiar with the program. Hermann is actually a pretty darned good AD, who is accessible. Same as Tyler Phommachanh, but in this case your scrutinization, through no fault of your own, is incorrect.

Dude, she's awful.

I know PR is only one aspect of the job, but it's a pretty important one when you're the face of an athletic department. And Hermann has been a nightmare on that front pretty much since day one.

I have no idea why Rutgers fans insist on defending this hack. If I were a Rutty fan (I'm thankful I'm not), then I'd want my school to do better.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I think your assessment is incorrect. It's not Hermann. Many folks are pointing the finger at her. There are bigger issues that people who live outside the state just don't get, or who are familiar with the program. Hermann is actually a pretty darned good AD, who is accessible. Same as Tyler Phommachanh, but in this case your scrutinization, through no fault of your own, is incorrect.

Yes, Rutgers does have issues, such as a President who was hired to manage the largest university merger in recent history (Rutgers and UMDNJ) who happens to have 0% experience in P5 athletics to a Governor whose entire focus is on the White House, to a very vocal and rebellious professors union who want nothing to do with UMDNJ nor Rutgers Athletics. But, Hermann has been a PR and leadership nightmare from the start. No one I know locally likes her and many are Rutgers alumni. Personally, while I am a UConn alumni living in Jersey, I have no disdain towards Rutgers outside of the friendly beat them on the field so I can tease my neighbors; but, I am absolutely peeved that my tax dollars help pay for her incompetence. Here are some of her professional nightlights at Rutgers to date...

http://www.sbnation.com/college-foo...hermann-rutgers-athletic-director-controversy

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i...sky_remark_in_staff_meeting_sources_said.html

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2013/05/26/rutgers-ad-julie-hermann-controversy-video/2361437/

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/09/23/hermann-rutgers/16067235/

 

[ruthetiger]

Yes, Rutgers does have issues, such as a President who was hired to manage the largest university merger in recent history (Rutgers and UMDNJ) who happens to have 0% experience in P5 athletics to a Governor whose entire focus is on the White House, to a very vocal and rebellious professors union who want nothing to do with UMDNJ nor Rutgers Athletics. But, Hermann has been a PR and leadership nightmare from the start. No one I know locally likes her and many are Rutgers alumni. Personally, while I am a UConn alumni living in Jersey, I have no disdain towards Rutgers outside of the friendly beat them on the field so I can tease my neighbors; but, I am absolutely peeved that my tax dollars help pay for her incompetence. Here are some of her professional nightlights at Rutgers to date...

http://www.sbnation.com/college-foo...hermann-rutgers-athletic-director-controversy

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i...sky_remark_in_staff_meeting_sources_said.html

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2013/05/26/rutgers-ad-julie-hermann-controversy-video/2361437/

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/09/23/hermann-rutgers/16067235/

To be perfectly fair, you live in NJ and are outraged that your tax dollars go toward the state flagship U, but you don't express the same outrage, when an NBA franchise is getting a basketball facility in SJ, and is asking the taxpayers to pay for it too? Actually they are. I believe in Ct, taxpayers support the flagship.