Would you prefer to be in the ACC?

[Dowling's Revenge]

this came up in another thread, but does anyone else feel somewhat disillusioned playing in the Big Ten mega conference with no historic rivals and many blowouts? Maybe it's me but playing conference games against UCLA/Washington/Oregon et al doesn't have much juice, and we have yet rise to the level of the Big Ten marquee programs: in 11 years we have 1 single win against Michigan, OSU, PSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska. Just pathetic. Maybe it really would be more fun playing Pitt, Louisville, Syracuse, BC, Virginia Tech, Miami et al. Heck it would feel like old times. And we might have a more realistic road to success.

 

[RUBlackout]

Absolutely NOT!! We need to step up to our level of comp and we have more in common with large public schools with research arms

 

[bigmatt718]

No. Would rather be alongside our academic peers which are predominantly B1G schools. We have nothing in common with schools like Wake, Duke, SMU, and outside of sports Cuse and BC. Only ACC schools Id want to align with are Cal, Stanford, Pitt, GT, UVA and UNC, maybe VT. There's more to being in the B1G than just sports.

 

[RUTGERS95]

better to sweep floors in heaven than run free in hell

 

[Anon1754923206]

No. Would rather be alongside our academic peers which are predominantly B1G schools. We have nothing in common with schools like Wake, Duke, SMU, and outside of sports Cuse and BC. Only ACC schools Id want to align with are Cal, Stanford, Pitt, GT, UVA and UNC, maybe VT. There's more to being in the B1G than just sports.

The fact that schools like Nebraska and Rutgers and Maryland are in the same conference as Washington and Oregon or cal and Stanford are in cahoots with SMU and West Virginia tells you all you need to know about the uselessness of conference membership at this point. I understand that the Big Ten has a research component to it and that’s a big deal, but sports wise, we are out of our league and have been for the entirety of our stay in the Big Ten.

 

[ScarletKid2008]

Regional conferences please
Limitations on programs budgets (coaches, salaries , recruiting , facilities)
Limits or “penalities” for transfers.

if the above happens (in my dreams) then maybe RU has a chance of competing in a power conference.

until then we’re sitting around praying for a billionaire super fan to elevate 1-2 programs. But even stilll you’re just competing against another 20-30 billionaires

 

[tru2ru1]

Regional conferences please
Limitations on programs budgets (coaches, salaries , recruiting , facilities)
Limits or “penalities” for transfers.

if the above happens (in my dreams) then maybe RU has a chance of competing in a power conference.

until then we’re sitting around praying for a billionaire super fan to elevate 1-2 programs. But even stilll you’re just competing against another 20-30 billionaires

You would be in court the second you try to institute these rules & you would lose

 

[noble106]

No. Our program wouldn't do any better or worse in the other conferences. We need funding and staff, not different schedules.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Ya know, they have this slick new message board feature called a "Poll"...............just sayin'.

 

[Retired711]

I don't want to be crass about this, but financially it's a lot more lucrative being in the Big Ten. Cal and Stanford would kill to be in the Big Ten rather than the ACC. So, I'm sure, would Florida State and UNC.

 

[RUGuitarMan1]

While I’m glad RU is in the B1G and it is better for the school in many ways, part of me misses the regionalism of college football. The reason the sport had so many great rivalries develop was due to the geographic connections between schools. The economics of the sport have driven it toward a national model.

 

[Section124]

this came up in another thread, but does anyone else feel somewhat disillusioned playing in the Big Ten mega conference with no historic rivals and many blowouts? Maybe it's me but playing conference games against UCLA/Washington/Oregon et al doesn't have much juice, and we have yet rise to the level of the Big Ten marquee programs: in 11 years we have 1 single win against Michigan, OSU, PSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska. Just pathetic. Maybe it really would be more fun playing Pitt, Louisville, Syracuse, BC, Virginia Tech, Miami et al. Heck it would feel like old times. And we might have a more realistic road to success.

Despite the answers you will get, yes. This university is not committed to playing big time sports. There is no level of sustained success in any sport since we went “bigger time”. Being in the ACC would have allowed us to compete better. But we still would not be great. In regards to football, we only shared a Big East title and never went to a BCS bowl game. That is embarrassing and we are the luckiest school ever to be invited into the B1G. At the end of the day we will never be accepted by the traditional B1G schools.

 

[Section124]

I don't want to be crass about this, but financially it's a lot more lucrative being in the Big Ten. Cal and Stanford would kill to be in the Big Ten rather than the ACC. So, I'm sure, would Florida State and UNC.

Money and prestige to say you are in the B1G is great, but as a fan of all Rutgers sports teams, it ls hard to get motivated to go to games now. 11+ years in and it’s a disaster. Keeping coaches that only make us marginally better with a fan base that thinks that’s great is small time. We are just the modern day Northwestern from the 80’s.

 

[Shelby65]

I don't want to be crass about this, but financially it's a lot more lucrative being in the Big Ten. Cal and Stanford would kill to be in the Big Ten rather than the ACC. So, I'm sure, would Florida State and UNC.

How do you define lucrative ? Sure Rutgers brings in more revenue but spends a lot more than it brings in, resulting in a massive athletics deficit mainly from football. Being in the Big10 isn’t actually lucrative at all.

RU would be athletics-bankrupt in the ACC too, but likely not as much.

Another falsehood is that the research consortium has financial benefit. It doesn’t. Research collaborations happen between faculty wherever there’s subject synergy, mostly within the same university but anywhere with no correlation to big10 membership. The Big 10 does have some academic status associated with it, less than being in the AAU does, but neither offers any financial benefit.

Rutgers athletics spends much more than it earns. Most schools do, but the deficit here is much greater. Keeping up with the Joneses in this conference, or instead just trying to and failing anyway, is a financial albatross.

 

[RU Cheese]

None of this is debated if we're any good. Get better leadership / coaching and go from there.

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

No. Our program wouldn't do any better or worse in the other conferences. We need funding and staff, not different schedules.

Despite the answers you will get, yes. This university is not committed to playing big time sports. There is no level of sustained success in any sport since we went “bigger time”. Being in the ACC would have allowed us to compete better. But we still would not be great. In regards to football, we only shared a Big East title and never went to a BCS bowl game. That is embarrassing and we are the luckiest school ever to be invited into the B1G. At the end of the day we will never be accepted by the traditional B1G schools.

Actually the university is committed to playing big time sports. All you have to do is compare the operating budgets for football, basketball, etc. against the rest of the conference. And it's a reason for the large deficits they've been incurring lately.

What's lacking is the fan support. The money needed to upgrade facilities, NIL, etc. never materialized from the fans like at all the other schools in the B1G. That's been the missing component this whole time.

 

[Knight Shift]

Actually the university is committed to playing big time sports. All you have to do is compare the operating budgets for football, basketball, etc. against the rest of the conference. And it's a reason for the large deficits they've been incurring lately.

What's lacking is the fan support. The money needed to upgrade facilities, NIL, etc. never materialized from the fans like at all the other schools in the B1G. That's been the missing component this whole time.

There will be fan support when there is something to support. Hard to build fan support when the two major sports are treading the waters of mediocrity and then sinking. There was support and excitement for mens basketball early in Pike's tenure, but things fell apart as college sports moved in the NIL era and our AD was distracted and not behind NIL efforts. A chicken or egg problem.

 

[Shelby65]

Analogy: Buying a beach house in Malibu that you can’t afford but because you like the view and you’ll see celebrities around town. Who wouldn‘t want that lifestyle, debt be damned ? Is the compounding debt worth it ? To some, yes. To others no. There’s no right answer.

Rutgers bought the house.

 

[bac2therac]

Actually the university is committed to playing big time sports. All you have to do is compare the operating budgets for football, basketball, etc. against the rest of the conference. And it's a reason for the large deficits they've been incurring lately.

What's lacking is the fan support. The money needed to upgrade facilities, NIL, etc. never materialized from the fans like at all the other schools in the B1G. That's been the missing component this whole time.

Maybe we dont deserve to be in big 10

Small fanbase with little athletic success was thrown a lifeline

 

[RUTGERS95]

The fact that schools like Nebraska and Rutgers and Maryland are in the same conference as Washington and Oregon or cal and Stanford are in cahoots with SMU and West Virginia tells you all you need to know about the uselessness of conference membership at this point. I understand that the Big Ten has a research component to it and that’s a big deal, but sports wise, we are out of our league and have been for the entirety of our stay in the Big Ten.

Regional conferences please
Limitations on programs budgets (coaches, salaries , recruiting , facilities)
Limits or “penalities” for transfers.

if the above happens (in my dreams) then maybe RU has a chance of competing in a power conference.

until then we’re sitting around praying for a billionaire super fan to elevate 1-2 programs. But even stilll you’re just competing against another 20-30 billionaires

this came up in another thread, but does anyone else feel somewhat disillusioned playing in the Big Ten mega conference with no historic rivals and many blowouts? Maybe it's me but playing conference games against UCLA/Washington/Oregon et al doesn't have much juice, and we have yet rise to the level of the Big Ten marquee programs: in 11 years we have 1 single win against Michigan, OSU, PSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska. Just pathetic. Maybe it really would be more fun playing Pitt, Louisville, Syracuse, BC, Virginia Tech, Miami et al. Heck it would feel like old times. And we might have a more realistic road to success.

you know, it's NOT your fault when your respective boyfriends smack you around.

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[DHajekRC1984]

Analogy: Buying a beach house in Malibu that you can’t afford but because you like the view and you’ll see celebrities around town. Who wouldn‘t want that lifestyle, debt be damned ? Is the compounding debt worth it ? To some, yes. To others no. There’s no right answer.

Rutgers bought the house.

Mine. We want to live in the Upper East side of NYC so we can go to the parties but show up with a 6 pack of beer when everyone else is bringing Champagne, Bourbon, and Wine. Ya know, just cause we can say we were there.

 

[bigmatt718]

Mine. We want to live in the Upper East side of NYC so we can go to the parties but show up with a 6 pack of beer when everyone else is bringing Champagne, Bourbon, and Wine. Ya know, just cause we can say we were there.

The person who finished dead last in medical school is still a doctor. Just saying.

 

[DHajekRC1984]

The person who finished dead last in medical school is still a doctor. Just saying.

yeah just not MY doctor.
I'm all for the academic relationship with the B1G. The athletic side has just turned into an embarrassing $ grab. Then again, find me 2 quality coaches and I could change my tune.

 

[LotusAggressor_rivals]

better to sweep floors in heaven than run free in hell

That is profound.

 

[King of S]

Miss the Big East days in football and hoops. Those were fun times.

 

[LotusAggressor_rivals]

Money and prestige to say you are in the B1G is great, but as a fan of all Rutgers sports teams, it ls hard to get motivated to go to games now. 11+ years in and it’s a disaster. Keeping coaches that only make us marginally better with a fan base that thinks that’s great is small time. We are just the modern day Northwestern from the 80’s.

As bad as Northwestern was, they did eventually win the conference.

 

[Krup062]

Regional conferences please
Limitations on programs budgets (coaches, salaries , recruiting , facilities)
Limits or “penalities” for transfers.

if the above happens (in my dreams) then maybe RU has a chance of competing in a power conference.

until then we’re sitting around praying for a billionaire super fan to elevate 1-2 programs. But even stilll you’re just competing against another 20-30 billionaires

Regional conferences were great for their time, but their time is over.

The eastern conference that was the dream decades ago, even including Penn St, would be considered a weak conference now and would be pretty irrelevant in the college football world.

Dreamers in this thread need to wake up. Mora from UConn is rumored to be going to Colorado St, that’s how far UConn has fallen, and that is going to be the future for a few of the eastern teams who went to the ACC when that conference blows up in a few years.

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

There will be fan support when there is something to support. Hard to build fan support when the two major sports are treading the waters of mediocrity and then sinking. There was support and excitement for mens basketball early in Pike's tenure, but things fell apart as college sports moved in the NIL era and our AD was distracted and not behind NIL efforts. A chicken or egg problem.

How has this mindset worked for the last 30 years....

The model has always been about money, facilities, etc. Only at RU did anyone think it could be done differently.

I'll keep waiting for the rest of you to realize that waiting to win is a losing strategy that will just continue to yield the same results. All who are expecting something different should look up the definition of insanity.

 

[Knight Shift]

How has this mindset worked for the last 30 years....

The model has always been about money, facilities, etc. Only at RU did anyone think it could be done differently.

I'll keep waiting for the rest of you to realize that waiting to win is a losing strategy that will just continue to yield the same results. All who are expecting something different should look up the definition of insanity.

Oh, some/many have stepped in to support. But in typical Rutgers fashion, those who have stepped up have been stepped on, ignored, treated badly, and or ignored by Rutgers. They moved to the egg, and wound up with egg on their face. IMO, this is a big part of the problem- ham-handed handling of donors, ineptitude, lack of follow up, etc.

 

[Shelby65]

Mine. We want to live in the Upper East side of NYC so we can go to the parties but show up with a 6 pack of beer when everyone else is bringing Champagne, Bourbon, and Wine. Ya know, just cause we can say we were there.

Schiano’s a 15 year old 6 pack of Busch Light in a soggy carton but yes that’s a good analogy.

 

[satnom]

this came up in another thread, but does anyone else feel somewhat disillusioned playing in the Big Ten mega conference with no historic rivals and many blowouts? Maybe it's me but playing conference games against UCLA/Washington/Oregon et al doesn't have much juice, and we have yet rise to the level of the Big Ten marquee programs: in 11 years we have 1 single win against Michigan, OSU, PSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska. Just pathetic. Maybe it really would be more fun playing Pitt, Louisville, Syracuse, BC, Virginia Tech, Miami et al. Heck it would feel like old times. And we might have a more realistic road to success.

Hard NO unless you want RU to join a ship that will one day sink into the bottom of the ocean where the Pac2 lies and will then revive with the likes of Old Dominion, UConn and Del.

GO RU

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

Oh, some/many have stepped in to support. But in typical Rutgers fashion, those who have stepped up have been stepped on, ignored, treated badly, and or ignored by Rutgers. They moved to the egg, and wound up with egg on their face. IMO, this is a big part of the problem- ham-handed handling of donors, ineptitude, lack of follow up, etc.

The reliance on the same set of donors is a big part of the problem as well. The move to the B1G should have brought in a lot more support and widened the base. Unfortunately the prior ADs never made it a priority like Keli has now. It's now or never because with each passing year, the current keeps dragging RU further out to sea and they'll never reach their destination.

 

[Knight Shift]

The reliance on the same set of donors is a big part of the problem as well. The move to the B1G should have brought in a lot more support and widened the base. Unfortunately the prior ADs never made it a priority like Keli has now. It's now or never because with each passing year, the current keeps dragging RU further out to sea and they'll never reach their destination.

We stepped up in a B1G way for the one of the new and impressive buildings, and for other projects and initiatives not long after moving into the B1G. But as noted in my post, we became disappointed and frustrated with the way items were handled, mishandled, ignored, etc. And originally, we had intended to give a lot more, including legacy gifts. Have had similar conversations with newer/younger donors. Things could change, but we are at the never again stage of giving after our experience.

 

[yesrutgers01]

Oh, some/many have stepped in to support. But in typical Rutgers fashion, those who have stepped up have been stepped on, ignored, treated badly, and or ignored by Rutgers. They moved to the egg, and wound up with egg on their face. IMO, this is a big part of the problem- ham-handed handling of donors, ineptitude, lack of follow up, etc.

The reliance on the same set of donors is a big part of the problem as well. The move to the B1G should have brought in a lot more support and widened the base. Unfortunately the prior ADs never made it a priority like Keli has now. It's now or never because with each passing year, the current keeps dragging RU further out to sea and they'll never reach their destination.

This is actually a big problem at Rutgers. The University really does seem to value their Alumni after Graduation unless you are famous.

Even with the Athletes- while there are some that have come back many times to be a face at Rutgers- most finish their career at Rutgers and are not really made to feel all that welcome. I can even refer back to the 10 year reunion of the 2006 team. Hard to believe that they did not even invite all of the players on that team to participate. Or, they do offer the ex players sideline passes but the player has to first purchase a seat.

I see posters here on our little board who keep saying that our little group of diehard fans on here need to give more money. And most of us are just your every day hard working fan who have their mortgage to pay, kids in school, and working a 9-5...And does the School itself ever really do anything for the Alumni on here to make you feel like you mean something to them?

I hope the new President and AD understand that is what really needs to change.

As for the original question and some of the responses - Are you out of your minds????

 

[DJ Spanky]

Even with the Athletes- while there are some that have come back many times to be a face at Rutgers- most finish their career at Rutgers and are not really made to feel all that welcome. I can even refer back to the 10 year reunion of the 2006 team. Hard to believe that they did not even invite all of the players on that team to participate. Or, they do offer the ex players sideline passes but the player has to first purchase a seat.

One only has to look at how they ham fisted the 150th Anniversary of the First Game. That was an opportunity that Ash and Hobbs completely pissed away.

 

[RUinPinehurst]

Back in my days on the Banks (RC ‘81), we played Colgate, Cornell, the Service Academies, Lehigh, William & Mary, Princeton, and the like, with a Tennessee or Alabama thrown in on occasion. Coach Burns got it done. As a student, you walked into the stadium, showed your ID and took a seat in the student section. The TD cannon was fired from an elevated placement on the grassy open end of the stadium. Simpler times. Now, we’re big time and have big time probs. Not all programs are going to excel. Most, like us, struggle along. We asked for it, mind you. We gave the Big Ten conference the NYC metro media market in exchange for our membership, and eventually a share of the profits, nothing more. A sleeping giant? Possibly. If you want or need to believe, no harm in that. But it’s all about the fundraising challenge, goals that are moving farther away as we move toward it. Seems likely that RU may never ever get and sustain the financing to improve facilities, staff, and a 4-star/5-star roster to really compete for a championship. Our alumni/fan base just does not prioritize winning, apparently. Why? Maybe just too many other forces diluting their ability or desire to step up. Dunno. In any case, we give it our “best” shot. Including our new hires. This Saturday, noon, tune into the Ohio State - Michigan contest. That’s a big time rivalry. They’ve earned it. Over many years of prioritizing winning, a culture of stepping up and giving much.

 

[Anon1754923206]

Thankfully RU kicks *** where it counts…as a top level educational behemoth. So we will never be OSU or Bama or any of those. Oh well…at the end of the day, the CIC part of the BT really is a big deal even if we can’t compete in football. Hopefully no program gets kicked out…something that many mock as impossible.

 

[Kbe4]

While I’m glad RU is in the B1G and it is better for the school in many ways, part of me misses the regionalism of college football. The reason the sport had so many great rivalries develop was due to the geographic connections between schools. The economics of the sport have driven it toward a national model.

I agree. Now we just have to improve our recruiting.

 

[Doctor Worm]

Thankfully RU kicks *** where it counts…as a top level educational behemoth. So we will never be OSU or Bama or any of those. Oh well…at the end of the day, the CIC part of the BT really is a big deal even if we can’t compete in football. Hopefully no program gets kicked out…something that many mock as impossible.

I don't think anyone will get kicked out per se, but I do think that if the "super conference" emerges, we will be on the outside looking in.

 

[Anon1754923206]

I don't think anyone will get kicked out per se, but I do think that if the "super conference" emerges, we will be on the outside looking in.

In the past I would have scoffed at the whole super conference thing…maybe we are a decade or so away from it…perhaps after the next iteration of the playoff (16 teams?) expires…?Conference title games go away and there’s some weird 12 game schedule rendering the whole 9 game SEC or BT schedules moot.

by then only Army Navy will be left as true college football as it has been…