Rutgers-Seton Hall men's and women's basketball annual doubleheader

[Halldan1]

State Sen. Codey calls for Rutgers-Seton Hall men's and women's basketball annual doubleheader

State Sen. Richard Codey is advocating for a men's and women's basketball doubleheader featuring the Rutgers and Seton Hall programs. (John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

With Rutgers and Seton Hall set to renew their women's basketball rivalry Saturday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, a New Jersey lawmaker called for the instate foes to meet on an annual basis.

But state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) is calling for a unique twist: "Why not have the Seton Hall and Rutgers women's teams play on the same day and court as the men's teams in an annual doubleheader?'' he told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday.

Codey, who attends dozens of Seton Hall and Rutgers basketball games each year, sent a letter to the athletic directors from both schools Wednesday urging that the two programs "explore establishing a new tradition that would bring New Jersey's favorite men's and women's college basketball teams together for a healthy dose of rivalry.''

"I suggest an annual double-header with Rutgers' and Seton Hall's respective women's and men's basketball teams playing each other every year and taking place every second Saturday in December, before the teams start their conference play and before the college football bowl season begins,'' Codey wrote. "The venue would alternate each year between the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway Township and the Prudential Center in Newark.

"As an avid sports fan and a strong supporter of New Jersey's college teams, I am positive that this event will become a much-anticipated date in every New Jersey sports fans' calendar, and will spark much interest in favor.''

Of course, that will be rectified Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN2), when the former Big East rivals meet in Storrs, Conn., for their first-ever meeting in the NCAA Tournament.

Seton Hall coach Tony Bozzella wanted to schedule Rutgers this season, but said Scarlet Knights coach C. Vivian Stringer told him she couldn't fit the Pirates into the non-conference slate.

Stringer told the Asbury Park Press earlier this winter "it would be nice to'' play Seton Hall on an annual basis, but noted her scheduling philosophy is based on facing as many perennially strong programs as possible in order to enhance her team's RPI (a key criteria for making the NCAA Tournament).

"That's the key because our RPI has to be high,'' Stringer said. "It would be nice to have something like that (against Seton Hall). As long as we can all be strong, it's worthwhile. This would have been a great year for that to happen. Hopefully we can get back to playing each other soon and show that there is no reason to leave New Jersey because you can play Top 25 basketball here with the fans supporting you.''

The two New Jersey programs are no longer conference rivals, with Rutgers now in the Big Ten and Seton Hall remaining in the Big East, but school administrators in 2013 brokered an agreement to pit their men's basketball programs annually at alternating home sites for the next eight years.

The Rutgers and Seton Hall men's basketball teams met on the first Sunday in December both this season and in 2013-14, with the Pirates winning each game in front of an average crowd of 6,960.

"Right now, the women's teams are doing better than the men and in a couple of years it could swing the other way,'' Codey said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. "But it's always a great competition and a lot of people would come to watch both games.''

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.

http://www.nj.com/rutgersbasketball/index.ssf/2015/03/state_sen_richard_codey_calls_for_rutgers-seton_ha.html

 

[Halldan1]

Nice dig by Stringer. She didn't want to play SHU because of RPI concerns but she had no problem adding Iona to her schedule after she nixed playing us.

 

[SHUSource]

She's a jerk. Always has been. Great coach, that's indisputable. But a nasty person.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[hbkmyr]

Nice idea...but not sure how feasible it is to have our women's team play at Prudential Center when you consider cost, availability, etc. Of course the doubleheader could always be played with Men at the Rock and Women at Walsh.

 

[bd98]

I remember talking to Stringer at a Big East women's media day. Bitchiest bitch I have ever come across in my entire life. Just nasty.

 

[SnakeTom]

Originally posted by hbkmyr:
Nice idea...but not sure how feasible it is to have our women's team play at Prudential Center when you consider cost, availability, etc. Of course the doubleheader could always be played with Men at the Rock and Women at Walsh.

That is not a doubleheader if it's in 2 different locations.

Actually scheduling back to back games in the Rock should be no problem. For years we played doubleheaders in the Meadowlands.

Tom K

 

[400SOAVE]

There was an SHU men's and women's basketball double-bill at the Rock about 5-6 years ago.

They did not play against teams from the same school. I don't remember what teams.

 

[hbkmyr]

Fair enough. I was thinking that with Izod closing... That's a lot of events that will need to go somewhere so the schedule might be a little tighter in seasons to come.

 

[bac2therac]

lol....I find it funny its such a big deal all of sudden that its a story, the only people in the state worried about RU playing SHU in womens hoops are Pirates fans

 

[piratesfan48]

Originally posted by bac2therac:

lol....I find it funny its such a big deal all of sudden that its a story, the only people in the state worried about RU playing SHU in womens hoops are Pirates fans

a$$. We have a woman's basketball elitist.

 

[Pirate6711]

Originally posted by bac2therac:

lol....I find it funny its such a big deal all of sudden that its a story, the only people in the state worried about RU playing SHU in womens hoops are Pirates fans

What's the magical RPI number that Seton Hall must reach before Stringer decides they're worthy to be bestowed the honor of appearing on the Rutgers schedule? What was Wagner's RPI? How about Davidson? Or Colgate?

 

[Proff Ed]

Bac certainly can't be a men;'s BB elitist. Even with our crap storm taking place there is NO comparison to our men's BB team. Check out their RPI, Sagarin and KenPom ratings.They may be the worst team in the entire so called Power 5 conferences.

 

[The SHUttle]

Originally posted by bac2therac:

lol....I find it funny its such a big deal all of sudden that its a story, the only people in the state worried about RU playing SHU in womens hoops are Pirates fans

Not to come off as sexist because this generally applies to the men's teams as well due to ineptitude, but nobody in the state outside of RU fans cares about any of the games that the RU women's team plays either.

 

[bac2therac]

my view is the uproar is a little over the top...no one cared about this game until now. These schools played for years and it was not a rivalry and there were probably more RU fans at Walsh for the game then SHU fans. This wasn't like the mens game where it was heated. It was just another game on the schedule. So SHU has one good year and all of a sudden there is complaining that we aren't playing anymore. Yeah its over the top. Stringer has never dogged top competition..she played Tennessee and UNC this year as well as playing like at least 15 games against tournament schools this year. I see the SHU side but its clear they have more to gain from it then Rutgers does in terms of the value of a win

anyway doubleheaders are easier said then done. When you have womens season ticket holders there, what do you do, make everyone clear out and move their seats...that probably is enough to get people to leave, the womens fans will watch their game and the men will watch theirs, sure some overlap but lets also understand the rivalry between the mens teams isn't so hot right now. Both teams on a downward slide so I just think the overall interest really is still lacking if not declining

 

[Seton75]

Originally posted by bac2therac:
...These schools played for years and it was not a rivalry...

Am I correct in adding that after we almost beat you and began to seem like we may actually field a competitive team, like we may be good enough to make it a rivalry, Springer decides to not schedule us? She was never worried about our RPI when Mangina was the coach. Phony BS coachspeak.

 

[piratesfan48]

Originally posted by bac2therac:
my view is the uproar is a little over the top...no one cared about this game until now. These schools played for years and it was not a rivalry and there were probably more RU fans at Walsh for the game then SHU fans. This wasn't like the mens game where it was heated. It was just another game on the schedule. So SHU has one good year and all of a sudden there is complaining that we aren't playing anymore. Yeah its over the top. Stringer has never dogged top competition..she played Tennessee and UNC this year as well as playing like at least 15 games against tournament schools this year. I see the SHU side but its clear they have more to gain from it then Rutgers does in terms of the value of a win

anyway doubleheaders are easier said then done. When you have womens season ticket holders there, what do you do, make everyone clear out and move their seats...that probably is enough to get people to leave, the womens fans will watch their game and the men will watch theirs, sure some overlap but lets also understand the rivalry between the mens teams isn't so hot right now. Both teams on a downward slide so I just think the overall interest really is still lacking if not declining

now you know how SHU basketball historians feel when Rutgers fans try that "same level "crap about the men's basketball programs.

 

[Pirate6711]

Originally posted by bac2therac:
my view is the uproar is a little over the top...no one cared about this game until now. These schools played for years and it was not a rivalry and there were probably more RU fans at Walsh for the game then SHU fans. This wasn't like the mens game where it was heated. It was just another game on the schedule. So SHU has one good year and all of a sudden there is complaining that we aren't playing anymore. Yeah its over the top. Stringer has never dogged top competition..she played Tennessee and UNC this year as well as playing like at least 15 games against tournament schools this year. I see the SHU side but its clear they have more to gain from it then Rutgers does in terms of the value of a win

anyway doubleheaders are easier said then done. When you have womens season ticket holders there, what do you do, make everyone clear out and move their seats...that probably is enough to get people to leave, the womens fans will watch their game and the men will watch theirs, sure some overlap but lets also understand the rivalry between the mens teams isn't so hot right now. Both teams on a downward slide so I just think the overall interest really is still lacking if not declining

They played for years because they were forced to. They played for years when Seton Hall was one of the worst, if not the worst, team in the power conferences. Yeah, RU had more fans in South Orange because it wasn't hard to out-draw the 20 or 30 fans that came out during the Mangina years. Now that Seton Hall has a good team and a good RPI, Stringer doesn't want SHU to hurt her precious RPI. That makes no sense at all.

Also, doubleheaders are a pain logistically and you won't hear anybody from an athletic department suggest that. It makes sense that a politician would propose that. If it ever came to fruition, I'm sure Codey would demand a cut of the gate revenue.

It would be a good series between neighboring schools, especially with interesting SHU's program growing.

 

[bac2therac]

Originally posted by Seton75:

Originally posted by bac2therac:
...These schools played for years and it was not a rivalry...

Am I correct in adding that after we almost beat you and began to seem like we may actually field a competitive team, like we may be good enough to make it a rivalry, Springer decides to not schedule us? She was never worried about our RPI when Mangina was the coach. Phony BS coachspeak.

we played in the same conference then...big difference. RU has not scheduled any games against former conference schools like Pitt, Syracuse, Villanova, Louisville, even the UConn series is done for now

I don't see SHU rushing out to schedule UConn

 

[Halldan1]

RU has been the undisputed top dog in women's BB for a long time in NJ. Now there is a possible shift in the current and Stringer feels like she has nothing to gain by playing SHU and everything to lose. Thus she wants no part of Seton Hall and Bozzella wants everything to do with Rutgers even offering to play on the road this year.

I spoke to someone who was with the RU team when the draw was announced and was told she was 'quietly' furious when the match up was shown.

 

[bac2therac]

spot on. And CVS does not dog top competition but she is going to pick and choose her battles with tough opponents. For SHU to gain more respect since the Big East really is not a very good womens conference anymore is to go out and schedule as many tough opponents as possible, that might mean going out on the road without home games in return. They did get Georgia this year at home, that's the kind of stuff they need to do going forward. Its much tougher for a smaller school to get games but that's the task they have right now.

I am sure that even though CVS does not want to play SHU that somewhere down the line these schools will play again. I am just a little amused about how we know have guys like Codey talking about it...lol really? its not that big of a deal.

 

[batts]

I really never cared about WBB. I never watched any games. I could never understand why RU paid (more like wasted) Stringer all that money when 95% of the State population could care less about WBB. However, I am happy for Borzella and SHU's WBB Team because it is a classic Cinderella feel good story.

 

[RU82]

Say what you will about Stringer. But I think the record demonstrates pretty clearly that she's never been appreshensive about scheduling quality non-conference opponents.

I understand your perspective on this. But you should be objective enough to understand that the suggestion CVS is afraid to schedule SHU rings as more than a little ridiculous.

 

[hbkmyr]

Don't really follow WBB that closely, but read up a little on RU after the selection show. I guess CVS is a little rough around the edges, but man, they really have been screwed by the selection committee in the past from what I read.

This post was edited on 3/19 11:23 AM by hbkmyr

 

[hbkmyr]

She's angry, lol.


"You know what I think would be great for Jersey basketball? Why don't we get a $50 million god darn arena? How's that?'' Stringer said. "That's what I think would be real great. Because you try recruiting to this. Have you gone to the other facilities? Come on, people. Let's get involved in the things we need to do.
"And I'll play everybody, anybody, whenever they get ready. I need a facility so that we can attract the same kinds of kids that everybody else does. I'm sitting up here and I walk into that facility at Ohio State - are you kidding me? It's the most incredible thing there is.
"We gotta do more than just talking. We gotta do something about this. NJIT, how much are they spending on a facility? Please.''

http://www.nj.com/rutgerswomen/index.ssf/2015/03/rutgers_womens_basketball_coach_c_vivian_stringer_1.html#incart_river?hootPostID=9c167f0ff1776f14a59bae0c4d402dfd

 

[Halldan1]

Originally posted by RU82:
Say what you will about Stringer. But I think the record demonstrates pretty clearly that she's never been appreshensive about scheduling quality non-conference opponents.

I understand your perspective on this. But you should be objective enough to understand that the suggestion CVS is afraid to schedule SHU rings as more than a little ridiculous.

There's a big difference saying she's afraid to play SHU and that she doesn't want the only school in the state that has a chance to usurp her superiority not to have a chance to beat her.

She loses to a school outside the state no big deal it's only one lose. But she loses to an up and coming in state rival she stands to lose a lot more than just a game.

 

[400SOAVE]

What Stringer said about the RAC can be multiplied by about thousand when it comes to Walsh. It should be the No. 1 priority for SHU athletics.

Regarding playing RU, I don't care about playing them. I don't like it that we signed that deal with the men's team. They will continue to play SHU only as long at suits them.

There are more than 300 other D1 teams the Pirates can schedule.

 

[lloyde dobler]

C Viv has to be going nuts at all of the media attention Seton Hall has received this week.

Combined with Princeton being 30-0, she has to now share the local attention, and she hates it.

 

[Halldan1]

C. Vivian Stringer: Other Rutgers coaches share facility concerns

Ryan Dunleavy, @rydunleavy

(Photo: Mark R. Sullivan/Gannett)

PISCATAWAY - Count Rutgers as one school where you won't hear the women's basketball coach privately complaining about the unfair advantages given to men's basketball or football.

In emphatically speaking out for the first time about the need for Rutgers to improve its basketball facilities, Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer, who operates the program with the most on-court success at the school over the last 20 years, made it clear that she is thinking of the needs of the entire athletic department.

"Let me tell you something: If the men's team can get three (good) guys - three guys - everybody else can be fill-in-the-blank," Stringer said. "Let (coach Eddie Jordan) get a slick guard, ball-handler. Let him get somebody that can shoot the heck out of the ball. Let him get someone who is dunking from halfcourt. Seriously. It mean, it would be very easy for Rutgers. This place would be packed."

Stringer will coach Rutgers in March Madness for the 16th time in 20 years at the helm when first-round play begins Sunday. Rutgers men's basketball hasn't been part of the NCAA Tournament since 1991.

Rutgers football had a similar downtrodden span of decades before former coach Greg Schiano arrived in 2000 and pushed through stadium expansions and facility renovations crucial to becoming a Big Ten member. Under Schiano and successor Kyle Flood, the football team has gone to 10 bowls in 11 years.

"Whenever Greg had the football team and he had Ray Rice, I would see limousines showing up," Stringer said. "(James) Gandolfini showed up. Everybody showed up because everybody likes a winner."

Not that Stringer thinks football has everything it needs to compete at the top of the Big Ten, either.

Stringer and her team recently got a behind-the-scenes tour at Ohio State and it opened her eyes.

"As nice as our football stadium is - it's gorgeous compared to other things - but you look at Ohio State and oh my God," Stringer said. "Then you realize. Some people say, 'Kyle has everything.' No, Kyle doesn't. (Not) if you saw that.'"

Rutgers recently announced more than $1 billion in university-wide fundraising as part of the completion of a seven-plus-year campaign. Athletics reported $8.1 million contributions during Fiscal Year 2014.

The first priority for facilities is building a $3.3 million indoor baseball and softball practice facility, with a June 30 fundraising deadline. Rutgers had raised about one-third of that pricetag as of late January.

"We all have a responsibility," Stringer said. "Do you get egg first or the chicken? Which one is it? I think that we all continue to do better. We've got to do better. As coaches, that's all you can do. But we can make this much easier for all of us."

Sen. Raymond Lesniak recently publicly criticized Rutgers administration for its lack of a formal facilities plan and suggested borrowing against future Big Ten revenue - Rutgers is not fully vested in the conference until June 2021.

Lesniak said a facility could be built for about $30 million, though Rutgers president Robert Barchi said preliminary analysis suggests "the actual cost for appropriate renovations and improvements would be many times would be many times higher than that figure" in his response letter to Lesniak.

"Can we get a bond or something? Can somebody come up with something creative? Can we just get a facility? It's unfair," Stringer said.

"Eddie's coaching in the same doggone place he played in. We can do some special things. How many people go to Rutgers University? Think about that. And we have more Fortune 500, more wealth in this state. Why can't we demand that? It doesn't cost that much compared to everything else that we have.

"And it can get a return. Because wouldn't you be happy to know this place was going to be packed and we could beat Ohio State and Michigan? Everybody feels the same way. All of us feel the same way."

Stringer spent 12 seasons in the Big Ten at Iowa before coming to Rutgers, so she knows better than anyone what the challenge ahead is like.

"Now we've got to step up into the big-time," she said. "Because whether it's the Tennessees of the worlds or the Kentuckys of the world, the Auburns, the Ohio States, the Michigans, when I see our kids walking into that going, 'Wow.' How does that make me feel? How? How?

"I mean, come on. Do something for us, too. I wish more people could say it. I said it before so I suspect that people will have a whole lot to say. 'Well, just be happy with what you've got. You're not happy.' No, that's not it. I want to win championships. That's not it by itself. But it doggone sure helps when you're talking about a 17-year old kid. It helps. So doesn't everybody realize that?"

Staff Writer Ryan Dunleavy: rdunleav@gannett.com

http://www.app.com/story/sports/college/rutgers/2015/03/19/vivian-stringer-rutgers-coaches-facility-concerns/25017679/

 

[SHUisNJsTeam]

Originally posted by Halldan1:
Nice dig by Stringer. She didn't want to play SHU because of RPI concerns but she had no problem adding Iona to her schedule after she nixed playing us.

Stringer is an ass. She is afraid to play Seton Hall or Princeton. Both New Jersey schools had better records than her.

 

[PirateSal]

Wasnt her son involved in a shooting while attending NCSt?? did he get jail time?

 

[bac2therac]

Lol

 

[HALL85]

I played in the RU Athletics golf outing this year and between rounds each coach that was there way introduced and said a few words but kept it brief, like two minutes each, so not to delay the afternoon shotgun. The bag of wind Stringer went on for 20 minutes and delayed the start while golfers were scrambling around to get to their carts. She is like the female version of Gonzo...totally self-absorbed.