Success on the gridiron hasn’t come often for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, despite having inaugurated college football there in 1869 when New Jersey’s now state university defeated Princeton, 6 to 4. Frequent losing seasons and many coaching changes later, Rutgers now has a winning program, having appeared in a post season bowl the last three seasons.

A winning team has brought in the fans who at one time would rarely fill half of the 41,500 spectator capacity of Rutgers Stadium. These days, games are sold out with more than 10,000 fans on a waiting list for tickets. With Rutgers future success all but ensured, the university decided this past January to embark on a $102 million expansion project which would increase capacity to about 56,000 seats.

One problem remains — although construction has begun, $30 million in funding has yet to be raised.

$72 million of the construction costs is being funded by a bond which will be paid through increased ticket costs. The remaining amount is to be raised privately, but according to wire reports New Jersey’s governor, Jon S. Corzine and a state senator, Raymond Lesniak, have yet to follow through with their promise to spear the fundraising effort.

Lesniak believes that the funds will be raised, but according to the Star-Ledger, the governor is checking with advisers to seek if it is ethical for the governor to help raise the money.

New Jersey is currently experiencing a budget crisis with the governor threatening to shut down nine state parks in a bid to save $4 million. Critics believe that the stadium expansion is ill-timed, considering the state’s financial plight while Scarlet Knight fans believe that the expanded stadium will thrust the football program into the national limelight.

Stadium construction will be completed by the Fall 2009 season, but the Scarlet Knights will still make use of Rutgers Stadium this season. Rutgers opens the 2008 season at home against Fresno State on September 1.

Further Reading

Rutgers Board of Governors Approves Stadium Expansion

Rutgers Starts Stadium Expansion Without All The Cash

If You Build It, Will The Money Come?

Resources

Achieving Student Success

Helpful Student Tools

Tags: Coach Schiano, New Jersey, NJ, Rutgers, Scarlet Knights

The college football season runs from late August to early December with a 3-5 week break before the bowl games start. Unlike the FCS where a playoff system determines the national champion, FCB colleges must be satisfied with a singular post-season game that may or may not determine a national championship for one school while allowing 63 other schools the chance to play during the holiday season.

What may not be obvious at first to the casual observer is that many universities want to keep the current bowl game structure as these games are a financially lucrative way for schools to get a piece of the bowl money pie. Most bowl games pay schools at least one million dollars to compete, with some paying teams in excess of ten million dollars. Besides, faithful alumni don’t mind the trips to Honolulu, Miami, L.A. and other warm water ports — just ask any Syracuse Orangeman fan who pines to escape two feet of snow for 80 degree weather. Too bad ‘Cuse fans will have to wait yet another year for that to happen!

Kicking It All Off Tonight With The Poinsettia Bowl

The first of thirty-two bowl games will start tonight when the Poinsettia Bowl kicks off in San Diego. The Utah Utes and Navy Midshipmen face off in what promises to be a high scoring affair. After that, it is on to games in New Orleans, Birmingham, Honolulu, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque over the next three days with a two-day break for Christmas.

Once Christmas is over, the bowl season steps up with 26 more games culminating with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) match up between #1 Ohio State and #2 Oklahoma on Monday, January 7. Not too long ago, the last game of the season ended on January 1st, but that was when there were half as many bowl games.

What Are Your Bowl Viewing Plans?

I grew up in New Jersey and followed the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for more than 30 years. Before two years ago, Rutgers only appearance in a bowl game was in the 1978 Garden State Bowl, a game I watched at Giants Stadium and one that the team lost. In 2005, Rutgers finally produced a bowl eligible team and this year’s team will be bowl bound for the third year in a row. I haven’t attended a bowl game since that Giant’s Stadium loss, but I do enjoy watching three or four bowl match ups each year.

How about you? Are you looking forward to your school’s bowl game? Let’s hear some predictions too. I’m going with Rutgers winning by 34- 17 and I expect Ray Rice to run wild!

Tags: Ball State, BCS, bowl games, football, Navy, Rutgers, Utah