I actually feel concerned for RU.....

[Hall91]

the Men's basketball program has pretty much become irrelevant, a questionable decision for their Head Football coach, an AD with really no clue how to make personnel decisions beyond getting high profile recommendations.

I say I'm concerned because with my own kids approaching college years and the notion that RU would be one of their viable choices, I really think there could be a major financial issue for the institution in their quest to keep up with the Joneses of the B1G yet not really being able to be competitive in the big $ sports that really matter ( yes I know RU is doing well in many other sports but there's not much financial impact from those programs).

why would a guy with the CV of Al Golden not get a whiff at this job (unless he declined interest)? RU should have hired a HC with legit big program experience and proven NY/NJ/Pa recruiting experience. Makes no sense IMO unless I'm missing something.

 

[SHUisNJsTeam]

What you're missing is the fact that ru sucks, is in over their head and will never have the money or resources to compete with the big boys. What they are facing in the Big Ten was the same thing when they faced when they were in the Big East. They never should have left the A10 and at a minimum, should have stayed in the AAC.

Any coach with any talent won't touch Rutgers with a 10 foot pole. The place is a coaching graveyard. Same thing with student athletes, anyone with any talent or pro aspirations won't touch the place. Why would they?

 

[Title_BU]

Rutgers has the worst be department in college athletics. If apathy hadn't already set it, you should have been concerned years ago.

 

[Seton75]

Imagine if a pill or drink could make us as happy as a second embarrassing blowout win against RU makes shuisnjsteam. I said during the second half this isn't really fun. But I bet shuis... never felt that way. Enjoy!!!

 

[TrueBlue1989]

I'm not an expert but I like the Ash hire. Accomplished HC's are not going to RU. Golden wasn't successful at Miami which is obviously a much better program than RU and competes in a weaker FB conference. Hobbs was hired to fix the train wreck. If Ash is successful then so will be Hobbs' reign, if not, then not much else will matter.

Only people on the inside the search know what real interest there was in the job, accordingly, it is difficult to full assess the choice as the alternatives are unknown by all others.

 

[BucBloc]

I'm pretty happy with all the attention the football program is getting. It leaves basketball withering on the vine. I would guess EJ may get one more year, be out and then a complete rebuild starting in the spring of 17. Make that about another 3-4 years of complete basketball irrelevance for the guys in red if they get a solid new HC, and who knows how long if they get what they usually get.

 

[lloyde dobler]

I can see it now... Jordan resigns after a miserable season, King Rice is riding high after a great year with Monmouth, and he moves to RU.

 

[Halldan1]

I can see it now... Jordan resigns after a miserable season, King Rice is riding high after a great year with Monmouth, and he moves to RU.

This Rice might be a little too much like that Rice for Rutger's taste.

 

[donnie_baseball]

Don't feel sorry for rutgers. If you know how the New England fans behave in the wake of the recent success of the Sox and Patriots, you could only imagine how those fans, who already look down on SHU, would act.

Every time rutgers tries to increase athletic spending, the taxpayers of NJ go berserk, and it seems to hamstring them. rutgers may be the only state school with so little in-state pride, compared with similar flagship Universities. They've certainly self-inflicted a LOT of that damage, through various administrative and athletic catastrophes. One day, they will properly fund sports, hire the right coach(es), and be the bane of our existence. So enjoy this cluster-you-know-what, while you can -- and it may be another decade, but who knows?

 

[SHUSource]

I can see it now... Jordan resigns after a miserable season, King Rice is riding high after a great year with Monmouth, and he moves to RU.

If King Rice continues his ascent, he should be able to look well beyond Rutgers. I can't imagine why a talented coach with legitimate options would touch that job with a ten-foot pole. Seriously. Terrible facilities, no prospects for improving them, an athletic department that steals more money from the university (students) than any other in the country to cover expenses, and having to recruit players to play in a league that, while very good, is not a visible basketball presence in your home region. When they jumped to the Big Ten, I figured it would have a positive effect on their football program (I think it will yet, though they are not the sort of program that will ever compete for Big Ten championships more than once every decade or so), and it would consign their hoops program to oblivion. having Eddie Jordan in charge only accelerated the process.

 

[sportsfantatic44]

I think if Rutgers got rid of Jordan after this year they would owe him somewhere around $2.5 million. I don't see Rutgers eating the money after what they have to pay Hermann, Flood, and giving Hobbs a 5 year deal. They are going to get absolutely annihilated in the Big 10 this year.

 

[sportsfantatic44]

the Men's basketball program has pretty much become irrelevant, a questionable decision for their Head Football coach, an AD with really no clue how to make personnel decisions beyond getting high profile recommendations.

I say I'm concerned because with my own kids approaching college years and the notion that RU would be one of their viable choices, I really think there could be a major financial issue for the institution in their quest to keep up with the Joneses of the B1G yet not really being able to be competitive in the big $ sports that really matter ( yes I know RU is doing well in many other sports but there's not much financial impact from those programs).

why would a guy with the CV of Al Golden not get a whiff at this job (unless he declined interest)? RU should have hired a HC with legit big program experience and proven NY/NJ/Pa recruiting experience. Makes no sense IMO unless I'm missing something.

Agree with you about Al Golden. Thought he should have been #1 on RU's list. Guy got a raw deal at Miami basically w/the administration not telling him NCAA was going to come down on them for previous violations. Guy got sand bagged if you ask me.

 

[simone84]

Rutgers hired a career loser in Eddie Jordan. I guess because he went to Rutgers they thought he would suddenly turn into a winner. King Rice would be a bad hire too. He's proven nothing.

 

[BOGDANOVICH]

What you're missing is the fact that ru sucks, is in over their head and will never have the money or resources to compete with the big boys. What they are facing in the Big Ten was the same thing when they faced when they were in the Big East. They never should have left the A10 and at a minimum, should have stayed in the AAC.

Any coach with any talent won't touch Rutgers with a 10 foot pole. The place is a coaching graveyard. Same thing with student athletes, anyone with any talent or pro aspirations won't touch the place. Why would they?

Everything changes. Good programs decline. Bad programs improve.
Chris Ash is an Urban Meyer clone. Tommy Amaker will replace Eddie Jordan.
Never say never. Seton Hall is not in a position to be arrogant about athletic success.

 

[radecicco]

We should be concerned that RU finally gets their act together. It's a zero sum game between SHU and RU. Either we get better and keep them down or the opposite will happen eventually.

 

[Seton75]

We should be concerned that RU finally gets their act together. It's a zero sum game between SHU and RU. Either we get better and keep them down or the opposite will happen eventually.

I disagree. If somehow both of us got good it would make nj kids consider staying home more seriously.

 

[Hall91]

Ash appears to be a very good guy and the connections with Urban Meyer (very predictable Hobbs move) certainly makes him appealing. But I think RU needed an experienced Head Coach with big program experience who has seen it all; good and bad, had experience rebuilding/building programs, proven NJ recruiting results, etc.. That's why I thought Golden was a perfect fit. Maybe he declined, maybe RU couldn't pay him, whatever.

I think bringing in a first time HC like Ash is a tall order for both sides. We'll see what happens.

 

[statenman]

I not starting a new "fire Wi_ _ _rd" thread, but this board would go crazy if RU fired Jordan and hired a winning coach after this season.

 

[radecicco]

I disagree. If somehow both of us got good it would make nj kids consider staying home more seriously.

Respectfully still disagree. When was the last time that both teams were good in BB at the same time? We have a tough enough time getting top local players due to the national nature of recruiting. Right now we have a huge recruiting edge over RU for the small pool of good local players willing to stay close to home. We don't need a credible B1G competitor right down the road also going after that small pool. Right now RU is not credible. That's good for us but SHU must keep improving.

 

[cernjSHU]

Respectfully still disagree. When was the last time that both teams were good in BB at the same time? We have a tough enough time getting top local players due to the national nature of recruiting. Right now we have a huge recruiting edge over RU for the small pool of good local players willing to stay close to home. We don't need a credible B1G competitor right down the road also going after that small pool. Right now RU is not credible. That's good for us but SHU must keep improving.

100% agree. 1989 and 1991 both Seton Hall and Rutgers made the NCAA tournament. But let's not make a mistake of who the dominant program was and that was Seton Hall. Those two years had the most successful Seton Hall teams and that was the last time RU even made the tourney. This State is too small to have Duke/NC type of consistent success at the same time. Most NJ players want to leave the State to play. Therefore, there is just a small pool of very good talent that even wants to stay home. Only one team can will be able to do that. Not enough to go around.

 

[Shuathelete]

Everything changes. Good programs decline. Bad programs improve.
Chris Ash is an Urban Meyer clone. Tommy Amaker will replace Eddie Jordan.
Never say never. Seton Hall is not in a position to be arrogant about athletic success.

I dont remember Seton Hall being arrogant about anything. I mean they did just sweep both Rutgers teams by a zillion points, Rutgers did just hire Hobbs as their AD who SHU knows first hand as a failure. When it comes to messing up we have some experience, which is why we can recognize RU as an even bigger disaster and laugh mercilessly at them.

 

[statenman]

RU does not have the type of fans that you feel sorry for. Don't forget the trash talking about their recruits in the past. When they had the top 20 recruiting class, they were going to turn into a national power. Forget about making the tournament, they were talking final 4. When they got the BIG invite, their fans were over here telling us to get ready to join the MAAC and $90,000 yearly TV payouts. Months prior to that they were over here telling us the big east was going to kick us out of the conference.
I for one am happy to have their fans on mute for these past 2 years.

 

[Pirate64]

As I see it , if RU and we get our bb acts together it will be like Ohio St and Xavier year in, year out. One can only wish.

P.S. I believe Hobbs will go after Danny Hurley as soon as he can. SHU? Who the hell knows what's next.

 

[Seton75]

Respectfully still disagree. When was the last time that both teams were good in BB at the same time? We have a tough enough time getting top local players due to the national nature of recruiting. Right now we have a huge recruiting edge over RU for the small pool of good local players willing to stay close to home. We don't need a credible B1G competitor right down the road also going after that small pool. Right now RU is not credible. That's good for us but SHU must keep improving.

One reason why kids leave is cause we have stunk and so have they (and we have also both been embarrassing off the court - both of us having scandals on our ledger) and kids see nothing in the local market that is attractive. We are always going to see some of the elite kids leave. We have three top level kids from NYC (while Desi and Mike are going to be terrific, they were not top 100 kids so I am not including them) on our roster right now and a commitment from one of the best NJ kids for next year. I know how we got them, and I know how other schools get some kids too. Bottom line, they are here.

If we are consistently good, we will be OK. Our problem is not RU's status, but ours. Our admin has no clue on how to pick a coach. That is our albatross. I prefer us to be good. I don't care about RU and hoping they improve is not something that ruminates through my brain. But if we are both good, I think it could make NJ more attractive.

My fear is not RU hoops, but college fb, whose ultimate goal is to relegate us to second class. That is why I pay no attn. to college fb, I see it as our enemy.

 

[RU82]

I don't see how RU basketball gets much better in the foreseeable future. It's gonna take a home run hire that falls into our arms as something of a lucky break. There's no getting around the fact that we now have one of the least attractive HC jobs at the power 5 level and that the stigma isn't going to go away until we land a coach who can overcome that by the force of his own exceptional talents. Not easy.

By contrast, I'm optimistic that RU's best days are still ahead of it in FB. The B1G east poses a formidable challenge every year but there's no reason to believe we can't go to bowl games on a regular basis and, when the stars align, get into the mix with the big boys provided we're realizing our own potential, which is significant.

I think there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about Ash's prospects. He reminds me a lot of Schiano when he came on board at RU - highly successful coordinator with a championship pedigree. The thing is, Ash is actually more charismatic than Greg. Unlike EJ or Greg when he first arrived, Ash actually has enough to sell to give him a fighting chance at the kitchen tables of talented recruits.

Hiring a first time HC is always a gamble but Ash looks like one where the calculations involved in the risk reward proposition add up just fine. It will be interesting to see what kind of staff he can assemble. I think that will tell us something. He's got a decent budget to work with there.

 

[cernjSHU]

I don't see how RU basketball gets much better in the foreseeable future. It's gonna take a home run hire that falls into our arms as something of a lucky break. There's no getting around the fact that we now have one of the least attractive HC jobs at the power 5 level and that the stigma isn't going to go away until we land a coach who can overcome that by the force of his own exceptional talents. Not easy.

By contrast, I'm optimistic that RU's best days are still ahead of it in FB. The B1G east poses a formidable challenge every year but there's no reason to believe we can't go to bowl games on a regular basis and, when the stars align, get into the mix with the big boys provided we're realizing our own potential, which is significant.

I think there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about Ash's prospects. He reminds me a lot of Schiano when he came on board at RU - highly successful coordinator with a championship pedigree. The thing is, Ash is actually more charismatic than Greg. Unlike EJ or Greg when he first arrived, Ash actually has enough to sell to give him a fighting chance at the kitchen tables of talented recruits.

Hiring a first time HC is always a gamble but Ash looks like one where the calculations involved in the risk reward proposition add up just fine. It will be interesting to see what kind of staff he can assemble. I think that will tell us something. He's got a decent budget to work with there.

I think you have it backwards. It is infinitely easier to turn around a basketball program than a football program. RU was on the cusp of turning its fortunes around in basketball with Kevin Bannon until his personal implosion. Similarly, Mike Rice had the program headed in the right direction. It only takes one good coach and two great players and now you are competing. As opposed to football where there are so many players that you must recruit to your school and then to avoid injuries etc. If RU's greatest success happened during Schiano in the Big East conference and yet failed to win a Big East Championship, how realistic is it for RU to actually even compete in the Big 10 football? If RU is extremely lucky, the best I see the football program would be like Northwestern. You will go through miserable seasons year after year. Then you might get a couple of good seasons followed by a lot of bad seasons again.

However, I see RU's football success as being more comparable to Indiana. One losing season after another.

 

[Hall91]

RU is currently cash strapped with the Football program. They will not be able to afford to payoff severance for EJ unless the money is raised via donors. I'm sure RU will go after Danny or Bobby Hurley in a big way when EJ's contract comes up for renewal.

Will be interesting to see if Willard does enough at SHU to be able stick around for another 2 to 3 years. Nothing would surprise me either way.

 

[batts]

It's not a zero sum game between RU and SHU. We will attract our share of local recruits who: (1) want to stay local; (2) who don't want to play second banana to Football program; and (3) primarily want to play in the urban areas of the North East. The keys to our future success are: (1) convincing to school to make SHU basketball a high priority funding wise; (2) picking the right coach; and (3) WINNING!

 

[RU82]

I think you have it backwards. It is infinitely easier to turn around a basketball program than a football program. RU was on the cusp of turning its fortunes around in basketball with Kevin Bannon until his personal implosion. Similarly, Mike Rice had the program headed in the right direction. It only takes one good coach and two great players and now you are competing. As opposed to football where there are so many players that you must recruit to your school and then to avoid injuries etc. If RU's greatest success happened during Schiano in the Big East conference and yet failed to win a Big East Championship, how realistic is it for RU to actually even compete in the Big 10 football? If RU is extremely lucky, the best I see the football program would be like Northwestern. You will go through miserable seasons year after year. Then you might get a couple of good seasons followed by a lot of bad seasons again.

However, I see RU's football success as being more comparable to Indiana. One losing season after another.

Our football program is in nowhere near the dire straights of our basketball program. The facilities are competitive and the local talent base is open to considering Rutgers with a level of seriousness that our BB program can only dream about right now.

Our FB program was at the cusp of taking a big step forward at the time Schiano left. In fact, the only reason Flood got the job was because we were desperate to keep Schiano's last recruiting class together, which was the best one we had ever had and included 9 of NJ's top-15 prospects. Flood landed exactly zero of NJ's top ten in each of the last two seasons.

If RU can recruit NJ well every year they'll be good every year and good enough to beat anybody in their best years. Unfortunately Flood was a dud as a recruiter and we've taken a step back. We'll just have to wait and see if Ash has the goods to pick up where Schiano left off.

The task of selling RU FB is nowhere near as daunting as trying to sell Rutgers basketball. There's a lot of state pride to be tapped into on the NJ HS football landscape. That is unfortunately not the case in basketball anymore and won't be for a long time if ever.

 

[hbkmyr]

I always thought RU move to Big 10 would hurt basketball more than football. How many decent local hoops recruits have gone to Big 10 programs? I'm not sure of the exact number but don't think its that many. The draw isn't there. Any good players outside of the area that want to play B10 hoops will go to one of the better programs.

 

[batts]

Our football program is in nowhere near the dire straights of our basketball program. The facilities are competitive and the local talent base is open to considering Rutgers with a level of seriousness that our BB program can only dream about right now.

Our FB program was at the cusp of taking a big step forward at the time Schiano left. In fact, the only reason Flood got the job was because we were desperate to keep Schiano's last recruiting class together, which was the best one we had ever had and included 9 of NJ's top-15 prospects. Flood landed exactly zero of NJ's top ten in each of the last two seasons.

If RU can recruit NJ well every year they'll be good every year and good enough to beat anybody in their best years. Unfortunately Flood was a dud as a recruiter and we've taken a step back. We'll just have to wait and see if Ash has the goods to pick up where Schiano left off.

The task of selling RU FB is nowhere near as daunting as trying to sell Rutgers basketball. There's a lot of state pride to be tapped into on the NJ HS football landscape. That is unfortunately not the case in basketball anymore and won't be for a long time if ever.

I don't necessarily disagree. I always believed that RU's biggest problem was firing Pernetti and replacing him with Julie Hermann, who was an unmitigated disaster. Pernetti was popular with the big money boosters which I believe greatly hindered Flood's ability to recruit ($$$$$$). RU has some other fundamental problems to overcome, including (1) operating its Athletic Department on a shoe string budget; (2) lack of a following in its own state (other than its alumni) and corresponding lack of a large booster base; (3) competing in a pro market with the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets etc; and (4) being located in a tax strapped State whose citizens will not stand for any further unnecessary tax increases. In Ohio and Michigan, almost the entire two States shut down to watch OSU, Michigan and MSU. In NJ, most people in the State don't care about RU football. . Also, the majority of Big 10 Athletic Departments are millions in the red each year despite receiving a full share of the television and bowl revenues. Barchi's stated goal when RU gets its full are of the revenues is to make its Athletic Department self-sustaining, which is not exactly a lofty goal. So don't expect a big windfall to pump into the football and basketball programs.

 

[BostonBlackie]

Everything changes. Good programs decline. Bad programs improve.
Chris Ash is an Urban Meyer clone. Tommy Amaker will replace Eddie Jordan.
Never say never. Seton Hall is not in a position to be arrogant about athletic success.

Why would Tommy Amaker choose to get his ass handed to him a second time in the Big Ten? He's been there/done that. What appeal could RU possibly have for him? people grow up and mature. He has an ideal life in Cambridge. He should be smart enough to know that by now.

 

[RU82]

I don't necessarily disagree. I always believed that RU's biggest problem was firing Pernetti and replacing him with Julie Hermann, who was an unmitigated disaster. Pernetti was popular with the big money boosters which I believe greatly hindered Flood's ability to recruit ($$$$$$). RU has some other fundamental problems to overcome, including (1) operating its Athletic Department on a shoe string budget; (2) lack of a following in its own state (other than its alumni) and corresponding lack of a large booster base; (3) competing in a pro market with the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets etc; and (4) being located in a tax strapped State whose citizens will not stand for any further unnecessary tax increases. In Ohio and Michigan, almost the entire two States shut down to watch OSU, Michigan and MSU. In NJ, most people in the State don't care about RU football. . Also, the majority of Big 10 Athletic Departments are millions in the red each year despite receiving a full share of the television and bowl revenues. Barchi's stated goal when RU gets its full are of the revenues is to make its Athletic Department self-sustaining, which is not exactly a lofty goal. So don't expect a big windfall to pump into the football and basketball programs.

I don't agree with that. In the end I think the decisive error was in giving the job to Flood. He just wasn't up to it. Nobody chooses or passes on a school because of its AD.

In this area you can buy Jets and Giants tickets for like $10 after they've been eliminated from playoff contention. That's just the way it is.

Even with our modest success thus far, RU ranks prominently on lists of the all time highest rated college FB games in this area on both ESPN and the B10 network. And last year we had two of the top-3 highest dynamically priced tickets for the entire season in Penn St and Michigan.

College or pro, the key in this area is that the game has to mean something. It really is that simple. Creating that situation, well, that's harder. But it's already been done. And doing it bigger and better than ever before is within the reach of our football program despite Flood's tenure. I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel for basketball right now. I don't even see the tunnel.

 

[Vegas pj]

I remember when Yale vs Harvard was offered. Show college football and they'll watch it, whether its ESPN, ABC or shudder the BIG network.

 

[SHUisNJsTeam]

I disagree. If somehow both of us got good it would make nj kids consider staying home more seriously.

Our success has NEVER been dependent on Rutgers! Why do people always worry about the team's consistently behind us? Keep an eye on those ahead of you and try to catch up. If you keep looking behind you will fall behind and stumble. Our goal should not be to emulate Rutgers!

 

[Bobbie Solo]

Our success has NEVER been dependent on Rutgers! Why do people always worry about the team's consistently behind us? Keep an eye on those ahead of you and try to catch up. If you keep looking behind you will fall behind and stumble. Our goal should not be to emulate Rutgers!

How old are you to be so obsessed with making fun of RU all the time? Goofy stuff like this is easily worse than any negative stuff that gets posted on here. I feel like you're really just a troll account and not a real person.

 

[SHUisNJsTeam]

How old are you to be so obsessed with making fun of RU all the time? Goofy stuff like this is easily worse than any negative stuff that gets posted on here. I feel like you're really just a troll account and not a real person.

Sorry if you feel that we should be more worried about Rutgers than teams like Georgetown and Villanova. I believe that if you want to get ahead you worry about and try to emulate those ahead of you not those behind you.

 

[Bobbie Solo]

Bobbie, watch the name calling. It's not necessary.

Response edited.


Nice try. Huge portion of this board feels exactly like that, except they don't spend every post writing how much RU sucks. You post like a freshman who just heard about the "rivalry" and has become obsessed with it. So ridiculous. If u didn't care about RU you would just ignore them. At least we agree that we should stop playing them. The problem with that is that KW will just replace them with another sub 200 RPI team if allowed to. Terrible scheduler on top of all his other faults as a coach.