OT: NYT article on Rutgers and the Big 10

[BRS24]

Hopefully this link will work. Interesting article about Rutgers and many issues after joining the Big 10.

LINK

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

It's a good thing for Ash that Urban Meyer steered him clear of Cuse so he could walk into that mess. Phew.

 

[Dooley]

What a mess. They didn't have enough money to buyout Flood's contract but there were people who thought they could pay a new head coach $4M/yr. Bankrupt.

 

[noeynox]

2021, will be here soon enough. Then that shipwreck will be getting 40 million a year from The B1G. That will heal a lot of ills. I just hope we get a life raft by the time they're getting a full share in that league.

 

[junglehusky]

Rutgers can be a middling B1G team in all sports and cry all the way to the bank.

 

[Pudge]

Quite frankly ... I miss Rutgers.

The Football game - for most of a decade - was a very competitive game. Moreover, though, I loved their fans superiority stature because they inevitably had more 4 stars and 3 stars every February. They took great pride in that one win. They always had dysfunction. The details of how their Stadium raised capital and then got the High Point constructed was a prime example of the difference between us (a very solid Rentschler authority deal and plan) and them.

Basketball. They are a big name now with a big conference that is an easier win than a MAAC school. They cannot seem to put more than 1 kid on the floor that has bigtime MM talent. They cannot seem to put together a Program. And with that, they exterminated several solid sports in their AD.

I agree: they will smile all the way to the point that the bank account looks better. Pernetti and Mulcahy put together - and now it looks like a 6 year or so effort - a good scheme. Delany took a University for cable instead of for the capacity to compete and grow as a World Class institution. And our other problem is Swofford who chose the moribund Privates BC & Cuse on 1950-1985 reputations.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Was on the front page of the NYT print

 

[mainlinedave]

Quite frankly ... I miss Rutgers.

The Football game - for most of a decade - was a very competitive game. Moreover, though, I loved their fans superiority stature because they inevitably had more 4 stars and 3 stars every February. They took great pride in that one win. They always had dysfunction. The details of how their Stadium raised capital and then got the High Point constructed was a prime example of the difference between us (a very solid Rentschler authority deal and plan) and them.

Basketball. They are a big name now with a big conference that is an easier win than a MAAC school. They cannot seem to put more than 1 kid on the floor that has bigtime MM talent. They cannot seem to put together a Program. And with that, they exterminated several solid sports in their AD.

I agree: they will smile all the way to the point that the bank account looks better. Pernetti and Mulcahy put together - and now it looks like a 6 year or so effort - a good scheme. Delany took a University for cable instead of for the capacity to compete and grow as a World Class institution. And our other problem is Swofford who chose the moribund Privates BC & Cuse on 1950-1985 reputations.

We have been averaging 50K+ a game in football since joining the Big Ten (and was at 46.5K before that) and we're paying down bonds faster than expected because of that. Not sure what your issue is there. Quite frankly, I'll take the way we handled our stadium expansion over how you handled yours every day of the week. Maybe if you handled yours like we did, you would be in the ACC by now, instead of in AAC purgatory, where a 10-2 Temple team goes to a third tier bowl.

Rutgers just had a great hire in football, and in a year or two, I have full confidence we'll get the hoops facility improvements (to go along with additional football facility upgrades we want) now that we have an AD with a track record of fundraising and making the most of political connections with the folks that can pass the legislation we need to provide Govt. support at the same level UCONN has been receiving it for years. We got a to of money from the NJ legislature due to Mulcahy's connections....and NONE from Hermann's time here....because she didn't have any connections. Hobbs has them, lots of them.

As a fanbase, we have never been more excited. I honestly see Chris Ash as being this year's version of Tom Hermann...and it only cost us a relatively cheap 2.2mm/year. Urban Meyer called Ash "an impact hire" and said "he was one of the best coaches I've ever been around."

That's good enough for me.

 

[BlueDogs]

Less B1G issues than plain old integrity issues. If they had anybody with a modicum of finance intelligence, they could probably finance the working capital need deficits over the next 4-5 years from future conference revenue share. There would be plenty of private finance money that would put up 100MM-200MM to do it. They could also probably get special revenue bonds issued to do it.

Of course, all the money in the world cant change that Rutgers is a toxic dump heap that marinates in the stench of NJ's culture of corruption.

 

[mainlinedave]

What a mess. They didn't have enough money to buyout Flood's contract but there were people who thought they could pay a new head coach $4M/yr. Bankrupt.

Oh we had enough money...we just had leadership too stupid to actually open up their checkbook to do it. They finally came to their senses this year.

 

[Kgun7]

Oh we had enough money...we just had leadership too stupid to actually open up their checkbook to do it. They finally came to their senses this year.

I'm surprised the NYT didn't quote you in their article .... you seem like you know what you are talking about .....

 

[mainlinedave]

I'm surprised the NYT didn't quote you in their article .... you seem like you know what you are talking about .....

Its pretty obvious, isn't it? It wasn't a matter of not having the money to replace the coach, it was a matter of not being willing to spend it. It's what drove Rutgers fans and season ticket holders crazy.

Then, when Flood has a string of bad events (clandestine meeting with the professor and subsequent suspension, multiple players being expelled for breaking into apartments, stories of players failing drug tests and not being properly punished, etc) all of a sudden RU found the several million needed to replace Flood and his staff?

Of course not. They had the money to do it, they were just not willing to. Finally, Barchi realized that it will cost more money (due to lost season tickets income and donations) to keep Flood then it would be to fire him....and they made the move.

If they really had a lack of money, they wouldn't have fired Flood for another year, until his contract is up....let alone pay the new coach 1 million dollars more per year (Ash=2.2mm/year while Flood was making 1.2mm/year) plus increase the asst coach pool from 2.3mm up to 2.75m.

Why didn't the NY Times article mention that? Because it doesn't fit their narrative.

 

[J187Money]

Its pretty obvious, isn't it? It wasn't a matter of not having the money to replace the coach, it was a matter of not being willing to spend it. It's what drove Rutgers fans and season ticket holders crazy.

Then, when Flood has a string of bad events (clandestine meeting with the professor and subsequent suspension, multiple players being expelled for breaking into apartments, stories of players failing drug tests and not being properly punished, etc) all of a sudden RU found the several million needed to replace Flood and his staff?

Of course not. They had the money to do it, they were just not willing to. Finally, Barchi realized that it will cost more money (due to lost season tickets income and donations) to keep Flood then it would be to fire him....and they made the move.

If they really had a lack of money, they wouldn't have fired Flood for another year, until his contract is up....let alone pay the new coach 1 million dollars more per year (Ash=2.2mm/year while Flood was making 1.2mm/year) plus increase the asst coach pool from 2.3mm up to 2.75m.

Why didn't the NY Times article mention that? Because it doesn't fit their narrative.

Right. When the school is subsidizing the AD, "having" or "not having" money is a very nebulous distinction. Depends wholly on appetite.

That's why when Nelson goes on that the situation in the AAC will become unsustainable, the math may indeed indicate that. However, the reality is that the school may be ok with a higher subsidy for athletics, OR you could be in the alternate situation and be in the B1G and still lose money and in theory the school could make a mandate that the AD must fund itself and we could be worse off. Unless you know how the decisions are being made, it is impossible to know for sure.

 

[Pudge]

We have been averaging 50K+ a game in football since joining the Big Ten (and was at 46.5K before that) and we're paying down bonds faster than expected because of that. Not sure what your issue is there. Quite frankly, I'll take the way we handled our stadium expansion over how you handled yours every day of the week. Maybe if you handled yours like we did, you would be in the ACC by now, instead of in AAC purgatory, where a 10-2 Temple team goes to a third tier bowl.

Rutgers just had a great hire in football, and in a year or two, I have full confidence we'll get the hoops facility improvements (to go along with additional football facility upgrades we want) now that we have an AD with a track record of fundraising and making the most of political connections with the folks that can pass the legislation we need to provide Govt. support at the same level UCONN has been receiving it for years. We got a to of money from the NJ legislature due to Mulcahy's connections....and NONE from Hermann's time here....because she didn't have any connections. Hobbs has them, lots of them.

As a fanbase, we have never been more excited. I honestly see Chris Ash as being this year's version of Tom Hermann...and it only cost us a relatively cheap 2.2mm/year. Urban Meyer called Ash "an impact hire" and said "he was one of the best coaches I've ever been around."

That's good enough for me.

What BS ...

You cobbled together a fraudulent Stadium financing structure. There were promises to raise funds from Private sources and ultimately, Rutgers did what they always have done ... begged from the state treasury. Connecticut has an Authority in place at Rentschler. That stadium, in evergreen, is easily re-financed and doubled/tripled in size ... because the foresight in the original structure. See? I know what I am talking about.

Ash? He is like the 8th Coordinator selected in the last 2 years. Herman, Morris, Montgomery, Durkin, Small ... see where I am going? He wasn't near the top of a long list. Great? Only if he produces. And, that - given its Rutgers - is a probability not very high. Averaging? When I first went to your stadium, you weren't drawing 20k. That's right, you could sit all by your lonesome in your own section for a Syracuse v Rutgers game. So, you really can't brag too much about that.

Let me add one more paragraph: see what UConn does in ALL our sports. We hire a damn good coach and let him build a Program. All down the line, we have excellent Programs. The best NC caliber both on the women's and men's side. We start a Hockey East Program and we are soon the attendance leader with a solid roster that can compete for championships within years. Rutgers isn't that. Rutgers is a hope and a prayer. Basketball? duck. I have zero confidence that you could hire a guy and get that Program into March Madness within a decade. Zero.

 

[FDNY99]

We have been averaging 50K+ a game in football since joining the Big Ten (and was at 46.5K before that) and we're paying down bonds faster than expected because of that. Not sure what your issue is there. Quite frankly, I'll take the way we handled our stadium expansion over how you handled yours every day of the week. Maybe if you handled yours like we did, you would be in the ACC by now, instead of in AAC purgatory, where a 10-2 Temple team goes to a third tier bowl.

Rutgers just had a great hire in football, and in a year or two, I have full confidence we'll get the hoops facility improvements (to go along with additional football facility upgrades we want) now that we have an AD with a track record of fundraising and making the most of political connections with the folks that can pass the legislation we need to provide Govt. support at the same level UCONN has been receiving it for years. We got a to of money from the NJ legislature due to Mulcahy's connections....and NONE from Hermann's time here....because she didn't have any connections. Hobbs has them, lots of them.

As a fanbase, we have never been more excited. I honestly see Chris Ash as being this year's version of Tom Hermann...and it only cost us a relatively cheap 2.2mm/year. Urban Meyer called Ash "an impact hire" and said "he was one of the best coaches I've ever been around."

That's good enough for me.

You honestly think you can fix the absolutely HORRENDOUS hoops facility issue's RU has in a year or two? UCONN's hoops practice facility makes the RAC look like a high school facility...never mind comparing it to Gampel. As far as football faculties go...you can't even touch what UCONN has. It's gonna take a LOT
MORE than a few years to fix that!

 

[docsu]

How is Ash going to be this year's TH? They're coordinators from tOSU. And that's basically all they have in common.

 

[Pudge]

How is Ash going to be this year's TH? They're coordinators from tOSU. And that's basically all they have in common.

I have thought about Tom Herman's success. Houston was a borderline bowl team under Tony Levine. He had a good pool of talent.

Compare Herman to Chad Morris (SMU), Pat Narduzzi (Pitt), Philip Montgomery (TCU), Bob Diaco (UConn), Justin Fuente (Memphis). The simple answer is all these spots have different challenges and different rosters when the guy arrives. Herman could be judged the best just how great the season turned out; but, that also speaks to what was left. There's no way that (with just January 2015) he significantly changed that roster. Ash may or may not have that at Rutgers. All 6 of those guys had at least the notoriety of Ash; yet, you have markedly different first years.

What is interesting is the B1G seems to be out of the MAC coaching success train. Durkin and Ash are the fresh new look. For my view, Dino Babers is a better bet; we shall see.

 

[Marty Jackson]

can someone explain how these huge paydays will continue into the foreseeable future. All I'm reading is that cable companies are struggling with people 'unpluggin', and that ESPN is seeing more subscribers fall off as well.
Is there any concern that ESPN and some of these other networks may not be willing to pay such large contracts going forward, or at the very least, may not be willing to pay x% more for the same content.
with the internet and streaming of live events gaining traction, I thought there'd be more disruption to the current model.

 

[Pudge]

Somehow someway ... people are going to watch college football. The B1G contract will still make your eyes water when completed within the next 12 months.

Apparently, the stadium attendance is kinda flat & the revenue there is not growing significantly. Whatever people get from ad dollars vis a vis streaming or whatever is a good model. And if it falls off precipitously>? Coaches have buyouts; assistants are one year contracts typically. I suppose the re-boot is pretty easy.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I have thought about Tom Herman's success. Houston was a borderline bowl team under Tony Levine. He had a good pool of talent.

Compare Herman to Chad Morris (SMU), Pat Narduzzi (Pitt), Philip Montgomery (TCU), Bob Diaco (UConn), Justin Fuente (Memphis). The simple answer is all these spots have different challenges and different rosters when the guy arrives. Herman could be judged the best just how great the season turned out; but, that also speaks to what was left. There's no way that (with just January 2015) he significantly changed that roster. Ash may or may not have that at Rutgers. All 6 of those guys had at least the notoriety of Ash; yet, you have markedly different first years.

What is interesting is the B1G seems to be out of the MAC coaching success train. Durkin and Ash are the fresh new look. For my view, Dino Babers is a better bet; we shall see.

Of course nobody can be sure who will work out the best but if we were in the market this year and my choices are Durkin, Ash, and Babers? I'm going:

1. Babers
2. Durkin
3. Ash

The gap in my preference between 1 & 2 is not nearly as wide as the gap between 2 & 3. I fully expect grandpa Nicky to come soon and somehow insult me by calling me TRANSPARENT. As if that's a bad trait.

 

[mainlinedave]

What BS ...

You cobbled together a fraudulent Stadium financing structure. There were promises to raise funds from Private sources and ultimately, Rutgers did what they always have done ... begged from the state treasury. Connecticut has an Authority in place at Rentschler. That stadium, in evergreen, is easily re-financed and doubled/tripled in size ... because the foresight in the original structure. See? I know what I am talking about.

Ash? He is like the 8th Coordinator selected in the last 2 years. Herman, Morris, Montgomery, Durkin, Small ... see where I am going? He wasn't near the top of a long list. Great? Only if he produces. And, that - given its Rutgers - is a probability not very high. Averaging? When I first went to your stadium, you weren't drawing 20k. That's right, you could sit all by your lonesome in your own section for a Syracuse v Rutgers game. So, you really can't brag too much about that.

Let me add one more paragraph: see what UConn does in ALL our sports. We hire a damn good coach and let him build a Program. All down the line, we have excellent Programs. The best NC caliber both on the women's and men's side. We start a Hockey East Program and we are soon the attendance leader with a solid roster that can compete for championships within years. Rutgers isn't that. Rutgers is a hope and a prayer. Basketball? . I have zero confidence that you could hire a guy and get that Program into March Madness within a decade. Zero.

That's a lot of talk to say that you wish you were in our position and that you wish you had expanded like RU did. The last time we played Syracuse when attendance was what UCONN draws now, was about 15 years ago.

We didn't cobble together a fraudulent funding scheme. That is a bunch of crap. We didn't have the donor support to do it, so we took the bold move of financing it on our own through bonds....and it has paid off HUGE. We wouldn't be in the Big Ten right now if we hadn't done that....so stop with the jealous attempts to crap on it. It makes you look small.
The best part is, we're paying down the bonds we used to finance construction ahead of schedule, due to increased revenue from better than anticipated attendance, so you really look like a dope for trying to point that out as a negative. It's about the only thing right the previous administration's did right.

You want to talk about foresight? We ACTUALLY built our stadium out to 54K, with plans to easily expand to 65K by adding a second level onto our new end zone seating..... the in-ground support for a second level is there. No need for digging. Just building up. It can be done in an off-season. That's what you call foresight.

There is a better chance of us expanding to 65K, since we are selling out or coming close to selling our home games. We have 32K season ticket holders. You guys are lucky to get to 32K fans....and that's with walk-ups and the other team bringing their fans to help fill your stadium.

That's the truth.

If you have a crowd of 35K everyone at UCONN rejoices. If we had a crowd of 35K people would be screaming murder. We had 47.5K for friggin Norfalk State.

I miss playing you guys, too. That happens when you own a 22-11 overall record against someone and had beaten them 4 out of the last 6 times you played them.

 

[mainlinedave]

You honestly think you can fix the absolutely HORRENDOUS hoops facility issue's RU has in a year or two? UCONN's hoops practice facility makes the RAC look like a high school facility...never mind comparing it to Gampel. As far as football faculties go...you can't even touch what UCONN has. It's gonna take a LOT
MORE than a few years to fix that!

I admit, we can't touch your hoops facilities. Not even close....and it will take 5-10 years to improve that.

But w e can't even touch UCONN football facilities? Ok, you lost me there. Time for a good laugh. Thanks. At least we own our stadium. That's OUR facility. Not owned by the state, and 40 minutes away from campus. Get back to me when you can call your stadium your own. You pay rent. We don't.

Wait till we start receiving 40M a year from the league, then watch what we do with our football facilities compared to what UCONN does to yours.

 

[Pudge]

That's a lot of talk to say that you wish you were in our position and that you wish you had expanded like RU did. The last time we played Syracuse when attendance was what UCONN draws now, was about 15 years ago.

We didn't cobble together a fraudulent funding scheme. That is a bunch of crap. We didn't have the donor support to do it, so we took the bold move of financing it on our own through bonds....and it has paid off HUGE. We wouldn't be in the Big Ten right now if we hadn't done that....so stop with the jealous attempts to crap on it. It makes you look small.
The best part is, we're paying down the bonds we used to finance construction ahead of schedule, due to increased revenue from better than anticipated attendance, so you really look like a dope for trying to point that out as a negative. It's about the only thing right the previous administration's did right.

You want to talk about foresight? We ACTUALLY built our stadium out to 54K, with plans to easily expand to 65K by adding a second level onto our new end zone seating..... the in-ground support for a second level is there. No need for digging. Just building up. It can be done in an off-season. That's what you call foresight.

There is a better chance of us expanding to 65K, since we are selling out or coming close to selling our home games. We have 32K season ticket holders. You guys are lucky to get to 32K fans....and that's with walk-ups and the other team bringing their fans to help fill your stadium.

That's the truth.

If you have a crowd of 35K everyone at UCONN rejoices. If we had a crowd of 35K people would be screaming murder. We had 47.5K for friggin Norfalk State.

I miss playing you guys, too. That happens when you own a 22-11 overall record against someone and had beaten them 4 out of the last 6 times you played them.

How do you think you get approval to use the State of New Jersey credit authority for bonds?

You - both the Corzine and the Christie administration - failed in the original presentation of your Sources of Funds for the stadium expansion. When failing, Rutgers does what they always does: begs. Yes, the State saved them. Pernetti probably knew that would happen. Even before the B1G invitation, this was put together to impress the B1G ... and you didn't have the support (on campus or in donors). Makes us look small? NO! I know that you - Rutgers - have a way of just screwing things up. Regularly.

My OVERALL point: B1G took you for cable boxes (and that is that). You don't run any sport to the excellence that UConn does. We would have a better Program in Football. And, we have multiple Programs with legacy longterm coaches.

Hate to bring up ancient history. When UConn was selling out Rentschler from 2003 on, I went to Rutgers a few times. You did not draw 20,000 several times. With a few thin years ... could happen ... you'd be back in that hole.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

It goes both ways.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-huskies/hc-uconn-sports-subsidies-1117-20151116-story.html

 

[Pudge]

It goes both ways.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-huskies/hc-uconn-sports-subsidies-1117-20151116-story.html

Not really. Did you ever take accounting?

"Every school does their budget differently. It's not as neat and clean as comparing one school to another," UConn's Mike Enright said.