The oldest university in the Big Ten Conference also has the longest history on the football field: Rutgers.
The first-ever college football game was played at Rutgers, but as the game has evolved, the Scarlet Knights simply haven’t had consistent success on a national scale. Coach Greg Schiano is trying to change that and has seemingly changed the culture in New Brunswick, but it’s been an uphill climb since the school joined the Big Ten in 2014. The Scarlet Knights athletic program has spent big in the last five years in order to compete, and still faces a major budget shortfall as a result.
As the Oregon Ducks prepare for a move to the Big Ten in 2024, The Oregonian/OregonLive is taking a look at all of their newest conference rivals. While Ducks fans might be deeply familiar with fellow Pac-12 departees Washington, USC and UCLA, they have 14 new teams to get to know this year.
Next up is Rutgers.
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
Nickname: Scarlet Knights
Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey
School founded: 1766
Joined Big Ten: 2014
Type: Public
Enrollment: 43,859 (main campus)
Endowment: $1.98 billion
Athletic department spending (2021-22): $138.4 million
Athletic department revenue (2021-22): $109.6 million
Football spending (2021-22): $43.6 million
Football revenue (2021-22): $21.7 million
Football stadium: SHI Stadium
Capacity: 52,454
Varsity sports: 24 (10 men’s, 14 women’s)
Mascot: Sir Henry the Scarlet Knight
Fight song: “The Bells Must Ring”
Notable alumni: Mario Batali, Milton Friedman, James Gandolfini, Alexi Lalas, Carli Lloyd, David Stern, Jim Valvano, Elizabeth Warren
Famous coaches: Greg Schiano (football), Frank Burns (football), Tom Young (men’s basketball)
Biggest rivals: Princeton (historic), TBD in Big Ten
Essential TV show: The Sopranos (1999-2007) — Leading man James Gandolfini is a Rutgers alum, and one could argue it is the greatest TV show of all time. It also set a precedent for prestige TV drama: there would likely be no Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones or Succession without The Sopranos.
Team national titles: Football (1 co-title, pre-NCAA in 1869), women’s basketball (1, pre-NCAA), men’s fencing (1, co-title), men’s lacrosse (2, pre-NCAA)
Did you know? Rutgers is known as “the birthplace of college football.” The first-ever college football game was played in New Brunswick between Rutgers and the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). The early rules of the game were more similar to soccer than modern American football. Rutgers won, 6-4.
GET TO KNOW THE REST OF THE B1G
HOW DOES OREGON COMPARE?
MORE DUCKS COVERAGE
- News | Newsletter | Facebook | YouTube | Podcast | Insider Texts
- Support local journalism with a subscription to OregonLive
- Contact Ryan Clarke at rclarke@oregonian.com