Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Encyclopedia
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (also known as Rutgers University). In sports, Rutgers is chiefly known for being the "Birthplace of College Football," hosting the first ever intercollegiate football game
on 6 November 1869 in which Rutgers defeated a team from the College of New Jersey
(now Princeton University) with a score of 6 runs to 4.
Among the first American schools to participate in intercollegiate athletics, Rutgers' main campus in New Brunswick
-Piscataway currently fields 27 teams in the Big East Conference
which participates in Division I competition, as sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association
in the following sports: baseball
, basketball
, crew
, cross country
, fencing
, field hockey
, football
, golf
, gymnastics
, lacrosse
, soccer
, softball
, tennis
, track and field
, swimming
and diving
, wrestling
, and volleyball
. The athletic programs compete under the name Scarlet Knights, after the Rutgers University mascot which was chosen in 1955 by the student body.
The Rutgers campuses in Newark and Camden also participate in intercollegiate competition — under the names Scarlet Raiders and Scarlet Raptors, respectively — in NCAA Division III.
, Columbia University
and long-time rival, Princeton University
(then called The College of New Jersey). The four schools met at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in Manhattan
on 19 October 1873 to establish a set of rules governing their intercollegiate competition, and particularly to codify the new game of football
. Though invited, Harvard
chose not to attend. In the early years of intercollegiate athletics, the circle of schools that participated in these athletic events were located solely in the American Northeast. However, by the turn of the century, colleges and universities across the United States began to participate.
The first intercollegiate athletic event at Rutgers was a baseball game on 2 May 1866 against Princeton in which they suffered a 40-2 loss. Rutgers University is often referred to as The Birthplace of College Football as the first intercollegiate football
game was held on College Field between Rutgers and Princeton on 6 November 1869 in New Brunswick, New Jersey
on a plot of ground where the present-day College Avenue Gymnasium
now stands (although the game was based more on soccer than on rugby
, unlike the current version of American football, which takes its rules from a rugby-based framework. http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1869-1910). Rutgers won the game, with a score of 6 runs to Princeton's 4. According to Parke H. Davis
, the 1869 Rutgers football team shared the national title with Princeton.
For much of its athletic history starting in 1866, Rutgers remained unaffiliated with any formal athletic conference and was classified as "independent". From 1946 to 1951, the university was a member of the Middle Three Conference, along with Lafayette
and Lehigh
. Because of its age, being one of the nine colonial colleges
, Rutgers was invited to join the Ivy League
at the formation of that conference in 1954. However, the university declined. From 1958 to 1961, Rutgers was a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference
. From 1976 to 1995, Rutgers was a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports while being an Eastern Independent in football. Rutgers remained independent until 1991 when it joined the Big East Conference
for football. All sports programs at Rutgers subsequently became affiliated with the Big East in 1995.
Since joining the Big East, the Scarlet Knights have won four conference tournament titles: men's soccer (1997), baseball
(2000, 2007), and women's basketball
(2007). Several other teams have won regular season titles but failed to win the conference's championship tournament. Recently, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' football team has achieved success on the gridiron after several years of losing seasons. They were invited to the Insight Bowl
on 27 December 2005 but lost 45 to 40 against Arizona State
. This was Rutgers' first bowl appearance since the 16 December 1978 loss against Arizona State, 34 to 18, at the Garden State Bowl
, which was the first bowl game in which Rutgers was a participant. In 2006, the Scarlet Knights were invited to the inaugural Texas Bowl
, in Houston, Texas
in which they defeated the Kansas State
Wildcats
37 to 10. On January 5, 2008 Rutgers faced Ball State in the International Bowl held in Toronto, for their third straight bowl game for the first time in the program's history. They won the game 52-30. Following the 2008 regular season, Rutgers was invited to the Papajohns.com Bowl, where on December 29, 2008 they defeated the North Carolina State University Wolfpack
by a score of 29 to 23 for their third straight bowl win. On December 19, 2009, the Scarlet Knights won their fourth straight bowl game by defeating the University of Central Florida
45-28 in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
The first intercollegiate competition in Ultimate Frisbee
(now called simply "Ultimate") was held between students from Rutgers and Princeton
on November 6, 1972 to mark the one hundred third anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game. Rutgers won 29-27.
. Initially, students sought to make orange
the school color, citing Rutgers' Dutch
heritage and in reference to the Prince of Orange
. The Daily Targum first proposed that scarlet be adopted in May 1869, claiming that it was a striking color and because scarlet ribbon was easily obtained. During the first intercollegiate football game with Princeton
on 6 November 1869, the players from Rutgers wore scarlet-colored turban
s and handkerchief
s to distinguish them as a team from the Princeton players. The Board of Trustees officially made scarlet the school colors in 1900.
In its early days, Rutgers athletes were known informally as "The Scarlet" in reference to the school color, or as "Queensmen" in reference to the institution's first name, Queen's College. In 1925, the mascot
was changed to Chanticleer
, a fighting rooster from the medieval
fable
Reynard the Fox (Le Roman de Renart) which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer's
in the Canterbury Tales. At the time, the student humour magazine at Rutgers was called Chanticleer, and one of its early arts editors, Ozzie Nelson
(later of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
fame) was quarterback of the Rutgers team from 1924 to 1926. The Chanticleer mascot was unveiled at a football game against Lafayette College
, in which Lafayette was also introducing a new mascot, a leopard
. However, the choice of Chanticleer as a mascot was often the subject of ridicule because of its association with "being chicken
." In 1955, the mascot was changed to the Scarlet Knight after a campus-wide election, beating out other contenders such as "Queensmen", the "Scarlet", the "Red Lions", the "Redmen" and the "Flying Dutchmen." Earlier proposed nicknames included "Pioneers" and "Cannoneers". When Harvey Harman
, then coach of the football team, was asked why he supported changing the Rutgers mascot, he was quoted as saying, "You can call it the Chanticleer, you can call it a fighting cock, you can call it any damn thing you want, but everybody knows it's a chicken." Harman later is said to have bought the first "Scarlet Knight" mascot costume for the 1955 season, which was to be his final season as football coach at Rutgers.
of Rutgers University is On the Banks of the Old Raritan
with words written by Howard Fullerton (Rutgers Class of 1874) and adapted to an old Scottish melody On the Banks of the Old Dundee. It is typically performed at the close of athletic events by the university's marching band, the Marching Scarlet Knights (also called "The Pride of New Jersey"), at Rutgers University Glee Club
concerts, commencement and other important school events. The university's fight song
, The Bells Must Ring
, is performed often during athletic events especially in recognition of notable scores. Written in 1931 for entry in a student song contest, pianist Richard M. Hadden (Rutgers Class of 1932) composed the song with W. E. Sanford (Rutgers Class of 1930). Between the verses of the fight song, the spirit chant is rhythmically shouted.
This chant is one of many recited during Rutgers athletic events. Another popular chant, where one side of the crowd yells out "R" and the other "U" antiphon
ally, is often performed. The original spirit chant used at Rutgers was "Rah! Rah! Rah! Bow-wow-wow! Rutgers!" however, it has not been performed in the modern era.
Other notable songs include Nobody ever died for Dear Old Rutgers composed by Jule Styne
to lyrics by Sammy Cahn
from the 1947 musical High Button Shoes
parodies an 1892 game in which Frank "Pop" Grant, a Rutgers football player, was being taken from the field because of injuries and stated that he would "die for dear old Rutgers." Other's sources state that the player stated "I will die if somebody does not give me a cigarette." The song Loyal Sons which exhorts Rutgers athletes (particularly football players) to "hit the line and run the ends boys...Score once more. Oh score once more."
, Lehigh University
, Princeton University
and Columbia University
(formerly King's College) originating from the early days of college football. While they maintain the Princeton rivalry in other sports, neither of them have met in football since 1980. Rutgers has a men's basketball rivalry with Seton Hall University
, and has developed growing rivalries with the University of Connecticut
and Syracuse University
in all sports.
The university's longest active football rivalry is with Navy (dating back to 1891). This rivalry stems from Navy and Rutgers being two of the only three programs (the third is Army) to come out of the original, informal "Ivy League" that are still members of the top tier of NCAA college football (currently Division I-FBS). Rutgers was a part of a round-robin conference known as the Middle Three Conference in football from 1929 through 1976, which included Lafayette
and Lehigh
. The winner of the annual round-robin received the Little Brass Cannon. The schools frequently met in other intercollegiate sports.(See Before There Was An Ivy League.)
Despite being the "Birthplace of College Football" and sharing the 1869 national championship with Princeton University
in the first year of intercollegiate play, Rutgers has not had an overly successful heritage in the sport through the years. Especially in the last three decades, Rutgers was regarded as one of the worst teams in Division I-A, posting several losing seasons in a row and raising discussion of possibly reducing the team to Division I-AA competition. For most of its existence, the football team was not associated with any formal football conference and remained independent even when the first football leagues were forming. At present, Rutgers participates in Division I-A and is a member of the Big East Conference
(since 1991). The current coach of the football team is Greg Schiano
.
. The 28-25 contest was won by kicker Jeremy Ito
, who kicked the game-winning field goal at the end of the game. After the field goal was made, announcer Chris Carlan said his famous line: "It's pandemonium in Piscataway!" as excited fans stormed the field. "Piscataway" references the fact that the game was played in Piscataway, New Jersey, where Rutgers' Football Stadium is located. Rutgers fans still revel in the memory of the game, as it alleviated the stress of so many losing seasons, and marked the pinnacle of Rutgers football. Many fans consider it to be the best football game in Rutgers history. After this game, Rutgers jumped to seventh in the AP Poll
, eighth in the USA Today/Coaches poll, seventh in the Harris Interactive Poll
, and sixth in the Bowl Championship Series
rankings. Finishing the regular season with a record of 10-2, with losses to the Cincinnati Bearcats
and West Virginia Mountaineers
. With a 37–10 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats
in the inaugural Texas Bowl
, Rutgers finished the 2006 season with a record of 11–2 and were ranked twelfth in the nation in final season polls. This was Rutgers' highest rankings in the football polls since they were ranked fifteenth in 1961.
The 2006 team featured players such as Maxwell Award
finalist, All-American halfback Ray Rice
, quarterback Mike Teel
, fullback Brian Leonard
, tight end Clark Harris
, wide receiver Tiquan Underwood
, All-American defensive tackle Eric Foster
, safety Courtney Greene
, kicker Jeremy Ito
, and punter Joe Radigan, who holds the longest-punt record (78 yards) in Rutgers history. Rice, who during the season broke several Rutgers football records, and with 1,794 rushing yards set the Big East's single-season record, came in seventh in voting for the 2006 Heisman Trophy
. Head Coach Greg Schiano
was awarded the 2006 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, the Home Depot Coach of the Year Award
and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
award from the Football Writers Association of America
. Results for the 2006 season are, as follows:
The Rutgers men's basketball team was among the "Final Four" in the 1976 Division I NCAA Tournament
and ended the 1976 season ranked fourth in the nation, after an 86-70 loss against the Michigan Wolverines
in the semifinal round and a 106-92 loss to the UCLA Bruins
in the tournament's third-place consolation game. This was the last men's Division I tournament to date to feature two unbeaten teams, as both Indiana
, who won that year's title, and Rutgers entered the tournament unbeaten. Rutgers went 31-0 during the regular season.
The Scarlet Knights also played in the 2004 NIT Final, where they were defeated by the Michigan Wolverines
. In 2005-2006 Quincy Douby
set a Rutgers Basketball single season record by scoring 839 points. He left after his junior year to enter the NBA Draft. Center Hamady N'Diaye
, taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves
and traded to the Washington Wizards
during the 2010 NBA Draft
is the only former Scarlet Knight in the NBA. The Scarlet Knights' current coach is Mike Rice
.
behind the shooting of Cappie Pondexter
. In the 2006-07 season, Rutgers finished second in the regular season behind UConn
, but went on to defeat the Huskies in the Big East Championship game.
Rutgers beat first seeded Duke 53-52 in the 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
, and advanced to the 2007 Women's Final Four. In the national semifinals, they would defeat LSU
, 59-35 and advance to their first ever National Championship game. In that game, however, they lost to the Tennessee Lady Volunteers
by the score of 59-46.
In June 2007, the Rutgers women's basketball team earned the Irv Grossman Award of Merit as providing service and unique achievement to increase appreciation for and elevate the status of women’s collegiate sports on a national level. The award is named after Irv Grossman, the founder of the Honda Awards Program.
The team is currently coached by C. Vivian Stringer
.
Starting in 1926, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association
(USILA) began rating college lacrosse teams and awarding gold medals to the top teams. Rutgers was the recipient of one of these in 1928, alongside Johns Hopkins, Maryland, and Navy
— each of which had only one regular-season collegiate defeat. From 1936 through 1970, the USILA awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy
to the annual champion, based on regular-season records. In 1971
, the NCAA began hosting an annual men's tournament
to determine the national champion. The Wingate Memorial Trophy was presented to the first two NCAA Division I champions (1971 and 1972) and was then retired.
since the Big East does not sponsor College wrestling.
, Columbia
, Lehigh
and Lafayette College
. Bloustein decided that Rutgers ought to pursue developments that would place the university on par with comparable state universities both academically and athletically. This led to Rutgers opting for inclusion among Division I, and later, under president Francis L. Lawrence
, to join the Big East Conference
in 1991.
William C. Dowling
, a University Professor in the Department of English, and a small number of other like-minded faculty, students and alumni organized a group known as "Rutgers 1000" in 1993, favoring downgrading the school's football team to Division I-AA. Though the group dissolved itself in 2003 when President Richard McCormick's
publicly announced a determination to continue supporting the athletic program, it was revived in 2007. Also in 2007, Professor Dowling came under fire from athletic director
Bob Mulcahy, regarding remarks perceived insulting to some minority athletes.
Rutgers efforts to upgrade the quality of its football program have raised criticism of several alumni, faculty and students regarding the size of athletic department's budget, wishing to divert its funds elsewhere. The athletic department's budget is $35.5 million compared to a $1.6 billion budget for the entire university. Most of the athletics budget comes from self-generating revenue (ticket sales, merchandise, broadcast rights), while the rest is taken from mandatory student fees. Supporters believe that having a very visible football program increases the connection of alumni and members of the community at large, thus increasing donations to the athletic department and even the university as a whole.
Though some critics feared that the focus on Division I-A athletics would lower admissions and academic standards, the Rutgers football team set a record high for Academic Performance Rate (APR) of any Football Bowl Sub-division team with a score of 992 in 2010. A final complaint was that the upgraded football schedule would prevent competing against long standing rivals
Princeton
, Columbia
, Lehigh
, and Lafayette
. However, supporters of the move claim it would make Rutgers more comparable to large, prestigious state universities such as the University of Michigan
and University of California
and private institutions such as Stanford University
which have been touted for balancing their academic reputation with athletic success.
concerns also played a significant role in these cuts.
in which Rutgers advanced to the "Final Four", subsequently ending the season fourth in the nation—it was also the site of conventions
to revise the New Jersey State Constitution
in 1947 and 1966.
One hundred and twenty-five years after Rutgers and Princeton first inaugurated the tradition of American football, High Point Solutions Stadium, a 42,000 seat facility, was opened during the 1994 football season. The field at High Point Solutions Stadium is large enough to host national and international soccer matches. The Louis Brown Athletic Center
, commonly known as the RAC (for its original name of Rutgers Athletic Center), is home to the Rutgers men’s and women’s basketball programs and has a capacity of 8,000 seats.
Soccer and Lacrosse are both played at Yurcak Field, which accommodates over 5,000 fans. Built in 1994, this site, recognized as one of the premiere collegiate venues for these two sports in the United States, was named in honor of Rutgers alumnus Ronald N. Yurcak, a 1965 All-American Lacrosse player. Rutgers also operates an 18-hole 6,000-yard, par 71 golf course, designed by Hal Purdy and awarded four stars in 2004 by Golf Magazine and ranked by Golf Digest as "Best Place to Play".
have continued their athletic careers professionally. A few became coaches, managers or owners of professional teams, including Alexi Lalas
, Class of 1991, a former U.S. Soccer National Team member who is the current President & General Manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy
, Eddie Jordan
, Class of 1977, who was Head Coach of the Philadelphia 76ers
, Sonny Werblin
, Class of 1932, who was founder of the New York Jets
in the National Football League
, and Jeff Torborg, Class of 1963, a Major League Baseball
Catcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers
and California Angels
who went on to manage several teams in Major League Baseball
and coaches of college athletic teams, including Jim Valvano
, Class of 1967, who while coach at North Carolina State University
won 1983 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
. Also notable, David Stern
, a member of the Class of 1963, who is the current commissioner of the National Basketball Association
(NBA)—a post he has occupied since 1984.
Jon Conway
, Class of 1999, is the current goalkeeper for Chivas USA and Josh Gros
, Class of 2003 was a midfielder for D.C. United
in American Major League Soccer
. Players that went on to the National Football League include: Deron Cherry
, Class of 1980, (Kansas City Chiefs
) member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
, Quarterback Ray Lucas
, class of 1996, (New York Jets
, Miami Dolphins
1996-2002), Quarterback Mike McMahon, Class of 2001 (Minnesota Vikings
), Center Shaun O'Hara
, Class of 2000, (New York Giants
), Tight End L.J. Smith, Class of 2003, (Baltimore Ravens
), Middle Linebacker Gary Brackett
, Class of 2002, Indianapolis Colts
, and Tight End Marco Battaglia
, Class of 1996, (Pittsburgh Steelers
) Brian Leonard
(Class of 2007, drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 2nd of the 2007 NFL Draft), Kenny Britt
(Class of 2010, drafted by the Tennessee Titans 1st round of the 2009 NFL Draft)and Heisman Trophy candidate Ray Rice
(Class of 2009, drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 NFL Draft), Offensive Guard Darnell Stapelton, who started for the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers during the championship game. David DeJesus
is currently a center-fielder for the Oakland Athletics
. Rutgers' successeful Women's Basketball program have sent several women to the Women's National Basketball Association
(WNBA), including Sue Wicks
, Class of 1988, who played for the New York Liberty
from 1997 to 2002, and was a member of the American team in the 1988 Summer Olympics
in Seoul
, Korea
, and most recently Cappie Pondexter
, Class of 2006, of the Phoenix Mercury
and Tammy Sutton-Brown
, Class of 2001, with the Charlotte Sting
. Among Rutgers Men's Basketball, Roy Hinson
, class of 1982, has been a long-time player in the league, and Quincy Douby
was drafted in 2006 as a guard for the Sacramento Kings
.
The Super Bowl
winners from 2007-2009 each had a Rutgers Undrafted free agent start for them:
Super Bowl XLI
- Gary Brackett
- Middle linebacker - Indianapolis Colts
Super Bowl XLII
- Shaun O'Hara
- Center
- New York Giants
Super Bowl XLIII
- Darnell Stapleton
- Offensive guard - Pittsburgh Steelers
, Tennis
, Volleyball
(women), Baseball
(men) and Softball
(women). The Men's Volleyball
team is the only NCAA Division I sport on the campus. Their teams are known as the "Scarlet Raiders." Built in 1977, the Golden Dome Athletic Center is the hub of Rutgers-Newark athletics, seating 2,000. Soccer and softball games are held on Alumni Field, while the Rutgers-Newark baseball team plays at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium
, a 6,200-seat ballpark that is home to the Newark Bears
, a minor-league professional baseball franchise.
, Cross Country
, Golf
, Soccer, Volleyball
, Basketball
, Indoor Track, Baseball
(men), Softball
(women), and Track and Field
. Their teams are known as the "Scarlet Raptors." In 2006, Rutgers-Camden won the NCAA Division III Softball championship, defeating two-time defending champion St. Thomas, 3-2 to capture the school's first national title. Rutgers-Camden basketball also holds the unfortunate distinction of the longest losing streak in college basketball, set in 1997. The team was disbanded, but student outcry lead to a re-instatement. Rutgers-Camden broke its NCAA-record 117-game losing streak with a 77-72 victory over Bloomfield College. Though yet to post a winning season, the team has returned somewhat to respectability.
1869 college football season
The 1869 college football season was the first season of intercollegiate football. It is considered the inaugural college football season, and consisted of only two total games, both of which occurred between the and ; The first was played on November 6 at Rutgers' campus, and the second was...
on 6 November 1869 in which Rutgers defeated a team from the College of New Jersey
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(now Princeton University) with a score of 6 runs to 4.
Among the first American schools to participate in intercollegiate athletics, Rutgers' main campus in New Brunswick
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
-Piscataway currently fields 27 teams in the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
which participates in Division I competition, as sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
in the following sports: baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
, basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
, crew
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, fencing
Collegiate fencing
Collegiate fencing has existed for a long time. Some of the earliest programs in the US came from the Ivy League schools, but now there are over 100 fencing programs in the US. Both clubs and varsity teams participate in the sport, however only the varsity teams may participate in the NCAA...
, field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
, football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, lacrosse
College lacrosse
College lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...
, soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, wrestling
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...
, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. The athletic programs compete under the name Scarlet Knights, after the Rutgers University mascot which was chosen in 1955 by the student body.
The Rutgers campuses in Newark and Camden also participate in intercollegiate competition — under the names Scarlet Raiders and Scarlet Raptors, respectively — in NCAA Division III.
Athletic heritage
Rutgers was among the first American institutions to engage in intercollegiate athletics, and participated in a small circle of schools that included Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and long-time rival, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(then called The College of New Jersey). The four schools met at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on 19 October 1873 to establish a set of rules governing their intercollegiate competition, and particularly to codify the new game of football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. Though invited, Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
chose not to attend. In the early years of intercollegiate athletics, the circle of schools that participated in these athletic events were located solely in the American Northeast. However, by the turn of the century, colleges and universities across the United States began to participate.
The first intercollegiate athletic event at Rutgers was a baseball game on 2 May 1866 against Princeton in which they suffered a 40-2 loss. Rutgers University is often referred to as The Birthplace of College Football as the first intercollegiate football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game was held on College Field between Rutgers and Princeton on 6 November 1869 in New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
on a plot of ground where the present-day College Avenue Gymnasium
College Avenue Gymnasium
The College Avenue Gymnasium is an athletic facility on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.It is the second gymnasium built on the site. The first was built in 1892 on the site of College Field, the former RU football field...
now stands (although the game was based more on soccer than on rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, unlike the current version of American football, which takes its rules from a rugby-based framework. http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1869-1910). Rutgers won the game, with a score of 6 runs to Princeton's 4. According to Parke H. Davis
Parke H. Davis
Parke Hill Davis was an American football player, coach and historian who retroactively named the national championship teams in American college football from the 1869 through the 1932 seasons. He also named co-national champions at the conclusion of the 1933 season...
, the 1869 Rutgers football team shared the national title with Princeton.
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
and Lehigh
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
. Because of its age, being one of the nine colonial colleges
Colonial colleges
The Colonial Colleges are nine institutions of higher education chartered in the American Colonies before the United States of America became a sovereign nation after the American Revolution. These nine have long been considered together, notably in the survey of their origins in the 1907 The...
, Rutgers was invited to join the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
at the formation of that conference in 1954. However, the university declined. From 1958 to 1961, Rutgers was a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference
Middle Atlantic Corporation
Founded in 1912, the Middle Atlantic Conferences is an umbrella organization of three athletic conferences which competes in the NCAA's Division III. The 16-member teams are located in the Mid-Atlantic United States....
. From 1976 to 1995, Rutgers was a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports while being an Eastern Independent in football. Rutgers remained independent until 1991 when it joined the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
for football. All sports programs at Rutgers subsequently became affiliated with the Big East in 1995.
Since joining the Big East, the Scarlet Knights have won four conference tournament titles: men's soccer (1997), baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(2000, 2007), and women's basketball
Women's basketball
Women's basketball is one of the few women's sports that developed in tandem with its men's counterpart. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast , in large part via women's colleges...
(2007). Several other teams have won regular season titles but failed to win the conference's championship tournament. Recently, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' football team has achieved success on the gridiron after several years of losing seasons. They were invited to the Insight Bowl
Insight Bowl
The Insight Bowl is an NCAA college football bowl game played in Arizona since 1989. From 1989 to 1999, the games were played at Arizona Stadium in Tucson. The game moved to Phoenix in 2000 and was played at Chase Field until 2005. After the 2005 playing the Insight Bowl moved to Sun Devil Stadium...
on 27 December 2005 but lost 45 to 40 against Arizona State
Arizona State Sun Devils football
The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....
. This was Rutgers' first bowl appearance since the 16 December 1978 loss against Arizona State, 34 to 18, at the Garden State Bowl
Garden State Bowl
The Garden State Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, from 1978 to 1981...
, which was the first bowl game in which Rutgers was a participant. In 2006, the Scarlet Knights were invited to the inaugural Texas Bowl
Texas Bowl
The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, formerly known as the Texas Bowl, is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that was held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaced the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005...
, in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
in which they defeated the Kansas State
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
Wildcats
Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State University's athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple, making Kansas State one of very few schools that have only one official color; white and silver are generally used as complementary colors.Kansas State participates in...
37 to 10. On January 5, 2008 Rutgers faced Ball State in the International Bowl held in Toronto, for their third straight bowl game for the first time in the program's history. They won the game 52-30. Following the 2008 regular season, Rutgers was invited to the Papajohns.com Bowl, where on December 29, 2008 they defeated the North Carolina State University Wolfpack
NC State Wolfpack
The athletic teams of the North Carolina State University, known as the Wolfpack, compete in 24 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and has won eight national championships: two NCAA championships, two AIAW championships, and four titles...
by a score of 29 to 23 for their third straight bowl win. On December 19, 2009, the Scarlet Knights won their fourth straight bowl game by defeating the University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
45-28 in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
The first intercollegiate competition in Ultimate Frisbee
Ultimate (sport)
Ultimate is a sport played with a 175 gram flying disc. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American football or rugby...
(now called simply "Ultimate") was held between students from Rutgers and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
on November 6, 1972 to mark the one hundred third anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game. Rutgers won 29-27.
School spirit
Colors and mascots
Rutgers University's school color is scarletScarlet (color)
Scarlet is a bright red color with a hue that is somewhat toward the orange. It is redder than vermilion. It is a pure chroma on the color wheel one-fourth of the way between red and orange. Scarlet is sometimes used as the color of flame...
. Initially, students sought to make orange
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
the school color, citing Rutgers' Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
heritage and in reference to the Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....
. The Daily Targum first proposed that scarlet be adopted in May 1869, claiming that it was a striking color and because scarlet ribbon was easily obtained. During the first intercollegiate football game with Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
on 6 November 1869, the players from Rutgers wore scarlet-colored turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
s and handkerchief
Handkerchief
A handkerchief , also called a handkercher or hanky, is a form of a kerchief, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric that can be carried in the pocket or purse, and which is intended for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or face, or blowing one's nose...
s to distinguish them as a team from the Princeton players. The Board of Trustees officially made scarlet the school colors in 1900.
In its early days, Rutgers athletes were known informally as "The Scarlet" in reference to the school color, or as "Queensmen" in reference to the institution's first name, Queen's College. In 1925, the mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
was changed to Chanticleer
Chanticleer
- Fiction :*A rooster appearing in fables about Reynard The Fox**The Nun's Priest's Tale, a version of Chanticleer and the Fox told in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales**By metonymy, any rooster**A character in the movie Rock-a-Doodle played by Glen Campbell...
, a fighting rooster from the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
Reynard the Fox (Le Roman de Renart) which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer's
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
in the Canterbury Tales. At the time, the student humour magazine at Rutgers was called Chanticleer, and one of its early arts editors, Ozzie Nelson
Ozzie Nelson
Oswald George "Ozzie" Nelson was an American entertainer and band leader who originated and starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet radio and television series with his wife and two sons.-Early life:...
(later of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
fame) was quarterback of the Rutgers team from 1924 to 1926. The Chanticleer mascot was unveiled at a football game against Lafayette College
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
, in which Lafayette was also introducing a new mascot, a leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
. However, the choice of Chanticleer as a mascot was often the subject of ridicule because of its association with "being chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
." In 1955, the mascot was changed to the Scarlet Knight after a campus-wide election, beating out other contenders such as "Queensmen", the "Scarlet", the "Red Lions", the "Redmen" and the "Flying Dutchmen." Earlier proposed nicknames included "Pioneers" and "Cannoneers". When Harvey Harman
Harvey Harman
Harvey J. Harman was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Haverford College , Sewanee: The University of the South , the University of Pennsylvania , and Rutgers University , compiling a career college football record of...
, then coach of the football team, was asked why he supported changing the Rutgers mascot, he was quoted as saying, "You can call it the Chanticleer, you can call it a fighting cock, you can call it any damn thing you want, but everybody knows it's a chicken." Harman later is said to have bought the first "Scarlet Knight" mascot costume for the 1955 season, which was to be his final season as football coach at Rutgers.
School songs and chants
Several school songs are connected with the school's athletic heritage. The alma materAlma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
of Rutgers University is On the Banks of the Old Raritan
On the Banks of the Old Raritan
"On the Banks of the Old Raritan" is the alma mater of Rutgers University. The lyrics and music were written by Howard N. Fuller, a member of the Rutgers College Class of 1874, in 1873. The mp3 of this can be downloaded...
with words written by Howard Fullerton (Rutgers Class of 1874) and adapted to an old Scottish melody On the Banks of the Old Dundee. It is typically performed at the close of athletic events by the university's marching band, the Marching Scarlet Knights (also called "The Pride of New Jersey"), at Rutgers University Glee Club
Rutgers University Glee Club
Founded in 1872, the Rutgers University Glee Club is the eighth oldest Glee Club in the United States of America, a nationally recognized men's chorus based at Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is currently conducted by Dr...
concerts, commencement and other important school events. The university's fight song
Fight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
, The Bells Must Ring
The Bells Must Ring
The Bells Must Ring is the fight song of the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights. It is available in mp3 format .-Lyrics:While there are five verses to the song, typically only the third and fourth are sung....
, is performed often during athletic events especially in recognition of notable scores. Written in 1931 for entry in a student song contest, pianist Richard M. Hadden (Rutgers Class of 1932) composed the song with W. E. Sanford (Rutgers Class of 1930). Between the verses of the fight song, the spirit chant is rhythmically shouted.
- R-U Rah Rah!
- R-U Rah Rah!
- Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah!
- Rutgers Rah!
- Upstream Redteam
- Redteam Upstream
- Rah! Rah! Rutgers Rah!
This chant is one of many recited during Rutgers athletic events. Another popular chant, where one side of the crowd yells out "R" and the other "U" antiphon
Antiphon
An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....
ally, is often performed. The original spirit chant used at Rutgers was "Rah! Rah! Rah! Bow-wow-wow! Rutgers!" however, it has not been performed in the modern era.
Other notable songs include Nobody ever died for Dear Old Rutgers composed by Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
to lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
from the 1947 musical High Button Shoes
High Button Shoes
High Button Shoes is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel The Sisters Liked Them Handsome by Longstreet...
parodies an 1892 game in which Frank "Pop" Grant, a Rutgers football player, was being taken from the field because of injuries and stated that he would "die for dear old Rutgers." Other's sources state that the player stated "I will die if somebody does not give me a cigarette." The song Loyal Sons which exhorts Rutgers athletes (particularly football players) to "hit the line and run the ends boys...Score once more. Oh score once more."
Athletic rivalry
Rutgers maintains athletic rivalries with other collegiate institutions. The university has historic rivalries with Lafayette CollegeLafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
, Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(formerly King's College) originating from the early days of college football. While they maintain the Princeton rivalry in other sports, neither of them have met in football since 1980. Rutgers has a men's basketball rivalry with Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
, and has developed growing rivalries with the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
and Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in all sports.
The university's longest active football rivalry is with Navy (dating back to 1891). This rivalry stems from Navy and Rutgers being two of the only three programs (the third is Army) to come out of the original, informal "Ivy League" that are still members of the top tier of NCAA college football (currently Division I-FBS). Rutgers was a part of a round-robin conference known as the Middle Three Conference in football from 1929 through 1976, which included Lafayette
Lafayette Leopards football
The Lafayette Leopards football program represents Lafayette College in college football. One of the oldest college football programs in the United States, Lafayette currently plays in the Patriot League at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level...
and Lehigh
Lehigh Mountain Hawks
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are the athletic teams representing Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. The Hawks participate in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the Patriot League...
. The winner of the annual round-robin received the Little Brass Cannon. The schools frequently met in other intercollegiate sports.(See Before There Was An Ivy League.)
Football
Despite being the "Birthplace of College Football" and sharing the 1869 national championship with Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in the first year of intercollegiate play, Rutgers has not had an overly successful heritage in the sport through the years. Especially in the last three decades, Rutgers was regarded as one of the worst teams in Division I-A, posting several losing seasons in a row and raising discussion of possibly reducing the team to Division I-AA competition. For most of its existence, the football team was not associated with any formal football conference and remained independent even when the first football leagues were forming. At present, Rutgers participates in Division I-A and is a member of the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
(since 1991). The current coach of the football team is Greg Schiano
Greg Schiano
Gregory Edward Schiano is the head coach for the Rutgers University football team. He has held that position since 2001.-Early life and education:...
.
2006 season
In 2006, Rutgers boasted its best season in three decades, beginning its first nine games undefeated. Sports commentators and writers began referring to the 2006 season as Rutgers' "Cinderella season" as each week passed in victory, and Rutgers gained nationwide attention and raised discussion of a possible national championship appearance. Rutgers ascended the major college football polls from starting the season unranked to achieving its highest ranking ever after the Scarlet Knights' 9 November 2006 victory over the third-ranked, undefeated Louisville CardinalsUniversity of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
. The 28-25 contest was won by kicker Jeremy Ito
Jeremy Ito
Jeremy Ito is a former placekicker and punter for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights NCAA Division I-A football team. He was most recently a kicker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League...
, who kicked the game-winning field goal at the end of the game. After the field goal was made, announcer Chris Carlan said his famous line: "It's pandemonium in Piscataway!" as excited fans stormed the field. "Piscataway" references the fact that the game was played in Piscataway, New Jersey, where Rutgers' Football Stadium is located. Rutgers fans still revel in the memory of the game, as it alleviated the stress of so many losing seasons, and marked the pinnacle of Rutgers football. Many fans consider it to be the best football game in Rutgers history. After this game, Rutgers jumped to seventh in the AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
, eighth in the USA Today/Coaches poll, seventh in the Harris Interactive Poll
Harris Interactive College Football Poll
The Harris Interactive College Football Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams. The rankings are compiled by Harris Interactive, a market research company that specializes in Internet research....
, and sixth in the Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
rankings. Finishing the regular season with a record of 10-2, with losses to the Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati Bearcats football
The Cincinnati Bearcats football program represents the University of Cincinnati in a college football. They compete at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level as members of the Big East Conference. The Bearcat football program is one of the nation's oldest, having fielded a team as...
and West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia Mountaineers football
The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their...
. With a 37–10 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State Wildcats football
The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference...
in the inaugural Texas Bowl
Texas Bowl
The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, formerly known as the Texas Bowl, is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that was held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaced the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005...
, Rutgers finished the 2006 season with a record of 11–2 and were ranked twelfth in the nation in final season polls. This was Rutgers' highest rankings in the football polls since they were ranked fifteenth in 1961.
The 2006 team featured players such as Maxwell Award
Maxwell Award
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
finalist, All-American halfback Ray Rice
Ray Rice
Raymell Maurice Rice is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. He is currently ranked as the Baltimore Ravens third all-time rusher in...
, quarterback Mike Teel
Mike Teel
Mike Teel is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights before he was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft...
, fullback Brian Leonard
Brian Leonard
-St. Louis Rams:On April 28, 2007, Leonard was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the second round with the 52nd overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. Leonard signed a four-year, $2.8 million contract on July 24, 2007, that includes $1.55 million in guaranteed money. Coach Scott Linehan decided to use...
, tight end Clark Harris
Clark Harris
Clark Harris is an American football long snapper and tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
, wide receiver Tiquan Underwood
Tiquan Underwood
Tiquan Underwood is an American football wide receiver who A member of the New England Patriots. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he has also played for the New England Patriots...
, All-American defensive tackle Eric Foster
Eric Foster
Eric Jerome Foster is an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. Undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft, Foster signed a free agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts...
, safety Courtney Greene
Courtney Greene
Courtney Greene is an American football safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers.-Early years:Starred at New Rochelle High School alongside college...
, kicker Jeremy Ito
Jeremy Ito
Jeremy Ito is a former placekicker and punter for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights NCAA Division I-A football team. He was most recently a kicker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League...
, and punter Joe Radigan, who holds the longest-punt record (78 yards) in Rutgers history. Rice, who during the season broke several Rutgers football records, and with 1,794 rushing yards set the Big East's single-season record, came in seventh in voting for the 2006 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
. Head Coach Greg Schiano
Greg Schiano
Gregory Edward Schiano is the head coach for the Rutgers University football team. He has held that position since 2001.-Early life and education:...
was awarded the 2006 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, the Home Depot Coach of the Year Award
The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award
The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award is given annually to college football's top head coach. The award for the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision is selected by ESPN and ABC college football analysts. No coach has ever won the award twice.-Winners:...
and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
The Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award is given annually to a college football coach by the Football Writers Association of America. The award honors Eddie Robinson, former coach at Grambling State who holds the second best record for most Division I wins with 408 behind only Joe...
award from the Football Writers Association of America
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the NCAA...
. Results for the 2006 season are, as follows:
Men's basketball
The Rutgers men's basketball team was among the "Final Four" in the 1976 Division I NCAA Tournament
1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1976, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
and ended the 1976 season ranked fourth in the nation, after an 86-70 loss against the Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The Wolverines play home basketball games at the...
in the semifinal round and a 106-92 loss to the UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins men's basketball
The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, established in 1920, owns a record 11 Division I NCAA championships. UCLA teams coached by John Wooden won 10 national titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record 4 times, in 1964, 1967,...
in the tournament's third-place consolation game. This was the last men's Division I tournament to date to feature two unbeaten teams, as both Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University . The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA. The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU...
, who won that year's title, and Rutgers entered the tournament unbeaten. Rutgers went 31-0 during the regular season.
The Scarlet Knights also played in the 2004 NIT Final, where they were defeated by the Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The Wolverines play home basketball games at the...
. In 2005-2006 Quincy Douby
Quincy Douby
Quincy Douby is an Haitian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. At 6'3", 175 lb, Douby played shooting guard for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights...
set a Rutgers Basketball single season record by scoring 839 points. He left after his junior year to enter the NBA Draft. Center Hamady N'Diaye
Hamady N'Diaye
Hamady Barro N'Diaye is a Senegalese professional basketball player. Prior to the 2010 NBA Draft, N'Diaye was the starting center for the Rutgers men's basketball team, the Scarlet Knights. Hamady grew up in Senegal and came to the United States to attend high school at Stoneridge Preparatory...
, taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
and traded to the Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
during the 2010 NBA Draft
2010 NBA Draft
The 2010 NBA Draft was held on June 24, 2010 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time , was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur...
is the only former Scarlet Knight in the NBA. The Scarlet Knights' current coach is Mike Rice
Mike Rice Jr.
-References:...
.
Women's basketball
The Scarlet Knights women's basketball of late has been one of the more successful programs in the school. A notable season would be the 2005-2006 season, when Rutgers at one point was ranked fourth in the nation and reached the Elite EightElite Eight
The term Elite Eight, or less commonly called "Great Eight", refers to the final eight teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship; and, thus, represents the national quarterfinals. In Division I, the Elite Eight consists of the...
behind the shooting of Cappie Pondexter
Cappie Pondexter
Cappie Pondexter is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the New York Liberty in the WNBA. She was born in Oceanside, California and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Pondexter is known for her scrappy play, quick crossovers and deadly midrange jumpshot...
. In the 2006-07 season, Rutgers finished second in the regular season behind UConn
Connecticut Huskies women's basketball
The Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represents the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut in NCAA women's basketball competition. Under head coach Geno Auriemma, the Huskies have won 7 NCAA Division I national championships, advanced to 12 Final Fours, and won over 30 Big...
, but went on to defeat the Huskies in the Big East Championship game.
Rutgers beat first seeded Duke 53-52 in the 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 17, 2007 and concluded on April 3 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Final Four consisted of Tennessee, LSU, Rutgers, and North Carolina, with Tennessee defeating Rutgers 59-46 for their seventh National Title...
, and advanced to the 2007 Women's Final Four. In the national semifinals, they would defeat LSU
LSU Lady Tigers basketball
The LSU Lady Tigers basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I women's college basketball. The team is currently coached by former UCLA head coach Nikki Caldwell, who accepted the job on April 2, 2011. Past coaches include Barbara Swanner, Jinks Coleman,...
, 59-35 and advance to their first ever National Championship game. In that game, however, they lost to the Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA women's basketball competition...
by the score of 59-46.
In June 2007, the Rutgers women's basketball team earned the Irv Grossman Award of Merit as providing service and unique achievement to increase appreciation for and elevate the status of women’s collegiate sports on a national level. The award is named after Irv Grossman, the founder of the Honda Awards Program.
The team is currently coached by C. Vivian Stringer
C. Vivian Stringer
Charlaine Vivian Stringer is a prominent African American basketball coach, with one of the best records in the history of women's basketball...
.
Men's lacrosse
- See footnote
Starting in 1926, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association
The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of institutions with varsity college lacrosse programs in all three NCAA divisions, founded in 1885.-Awards:...
(USILA) began rating college lacrosse teams and awarding gold medals to the top teams. Rutgers was the recipient of one of these in 1928, alongside Johns Hopkins, Maryland, and Navy
Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse
The Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse team represents the United States Naval Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse. Navy currently competes as a member of the Patriot League and play their home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland...
— each of which had only one regular-season collegiate defeat. From 1936 through 1970, the USILA awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy
Wingate Memorial Trophy
The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the national champion in men's college lacrosse prior to the inception of an NCAA tournament format in 1971....
to the annual champion, based on regular-season records. In 1971
1971 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1971 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the first Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Prior to this the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association had voted for the national champion and, subsequently, awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy for the NCAA...
, the NCAA began hosting an annual men's tournament
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....
to determine the national champion. The Wingate Memorial Trophy was presented to the first two NCAA Division I champions (1971 and 1972) and was then retired.
Wrestling
The Scarlet Knights wresting team coached by Scott Goodale is a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling AssociationEastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association
The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association is an NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling conference. It has been active since 1905 and has had a variety of schools as members throughout its tenure.-Current members:*American University...
since the Big East does not sponsor College wrestling.
Championships
- Men's fencing, NCAA National Champions (1949)
- Women's basketball, AIAW National Champions (1982)
- Men's basketball, Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament champions (1989)
- Cheerleading, dance team, UCA National Champions (1996)
- Soccer, Big East Conference champions (1997)
- Baseball, Big East Conference champions (2000)
- Men's track & field, Outdoor Big East champions (2005)
- Men's track & field, Outdoor IC4A Champions (2005)
- Football, Texas Bowl Champions (2006)
- Women's basketball, Big East Tournament champions (2007)
- Baseball, Big East Tournament champions (2007)
- Football, International Bowl Champions (2008)
- Football, Papa John's Bowl Champions (2008)
- Cheerleading, dance team, UCA National Champions (2009)
- Football, St. Petersburg Bowl Champions (2009)
Regarding "bigger time" athletics
Rutgers University's seventeenth president, Edward J. Bloustein (1925–1989) envisioned a drive for success at Rutgers that involved participation in "bigger-time" athletics. Several of the nation's colleges became associated with Division I-AA when that designation was established in the late 1970s, including many of Rutgers' historic rivals like PrincetonPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Lehigh
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
and Lafayette College
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
. Bloustein decided that Rutgers ought to pursue developments that would place the university on par with comparable state universities both academically and athletically. This led to Rutgers opting for inclusion among Division I, and later, under president Francis L. Lawrence
Francis L. Lawrence
Francis Leo Lawrence was the eighteenth president of Rutgers University, serving from 1990 to 2002.-Early years:Francis Leo Lawrence was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where he graduated from Mount St. Charles Academy in 1955. Lawrence earned his bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in...
, to join the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
in 1991.
William C. Dowling
William C. Dowling
William C. Dowling is University Distinguished Professor of English and American Literature at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, specializing in 18th-century English literature, literature of the early American Republic, and Literary Theory.-Biography:Born in Warner, New Hampshire,...
, a University Professor in the Department of English, and a small number of other like-minded faculty, students and alumni organized a group known as "Rutgers 1000" in 1993, favoring downgrading the school's football team to Division I-AA. Though the group dissolved itself in 2003 when President Richard McCormick's
Richard L. McCormick
Richard Levis McCormick is a historian, professor and university administrator currently serving as the nineteenth president of Rutgers University.-Early Life:...
publicly announced a determination to continue supporting the athletic program, it was revived in 2007. Also in 2007, Professor Dowling came under fire from athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
Bob Mulcahy, regarding remarks perceived insulting to some minority athletes.
Rutgers efforts to upgrade the quality of its football program have raised criticism of several alumni, faculty and students regarding the size of athletic department's budget, wishing to divert its funds elsewhere. The athletic department's budget is $35.5 million compared to a $1.6 billion budget for the entire university. Most of the athletics budget comes from self-generating revenue (ticket sales, merchandise, broadcast rights), while the rest is taken from mandatory student fees. Supporters believe that having a very visible football program increases the connection of alumni and members of the community at large, thus increasing donations to the athletic department and even the university as a whole.
Though some critics feared that the focus on Division I-A athletics would lower admissions and academic standards, the Rutgers football team set a record high for Academic Performance Rate (APR) of any Football Bowl Sub-division team with a score of 992 in 2010. A final complaint was that the upgraded football schedule would prevent competing against long standing rivals
College rivalry
Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both academics and athletics, the latter being typically...
Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Lehigh
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
, and Lafayette
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
. However, supporters of the move claim it would make Rutgers more comparable to large, prestigious state universities such as the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
and private institutions such as Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
which have been touted for balancing their academic reputation with athletic success.
Budget cuts and lean times
In the writing of New Jersey's 2006 state budget, the state legislature cut $66 million from the government's appropriations to Rutgers. The university responded by reducing several classes, laying off staff and junior faculty, and closing several programs. The athletic department announced that it would be ending six athletic programs beginning in the 2007-2008 academic year. These athletic programs affected are the lightweight and heavyweight Crew, the swimming and diving team, men's tennis teams and the men's and women's fencing. Title IXTitle IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...
concerns also played a significant role in these cuts.
New Brunswick/Piscataway
Rutgers University fields 27 sports teams from their New Brunswick-Piscataway Campus for NCAA Division I-A competition. Most of the university's 14 athletic venues and facilities are currently located in Piscataway on the Busch and Livingston campuses, with two facilities in New Brunswick (the College Avenue Gymnasium and the Class of 1914 Boathouse). Though the College Avenue Gymnasium has hosted a large variety of athletic events—including memorable games in the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1976, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
in which Rutgers advanced to the "Final Four", subsequently ending the season fourth in the nation—it was also the site of conventions
Constitutional convention (political meeting)
A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
to revise the New Jersey State Constitution
New Jersey State Constitution
The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the state has been governed by three constitutions...
in 1947 and 1966.
One hundred and twenty-five years after Rutgers and Princeton first inaugurated the tradition of American football, High Point Solutions Stadium, a 42,000 seat facility, was opened during the 1994 football season. The field at High Point Solutions Stadium is large enough to host national and international soccer matches. The Louis Brown Athletic Center
Louis Brown Athletic Center
The Louis Brown Athletic Center, more commonly known as the RAC , is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Piscataway, New Jersey on Rutgers University's Livingston Campus. The building is shaped like a truncated tent with trapezoidal sides on the north and south ends...
, commonly known as the RAC (for its original name of Rutgers Athletic Center), is home to the Rutgers men’s and women’s basketball programs and has a capacity of 8,000 seats.
Soccer and Lacrosse are both played at Yurcak Field, which accommodates over 5,000 fans. Built in 1994, this site, recognized as one of the premiere collegiate venues for these two sports in the United States, was named in honor of Rutgers alumnus Ronald N. Yurcak, a 1965 All-American Lacrosse player. Rutgers also operates an 18-hole 6,000-yard, par 71 golf course, designed by Hal Purdy and awarded four stars in 2004 by Golf Magazine and ranked by Golf Digest as "Best Place to Play".
Notable athletes
Several alumni who participated in athletic programs during their undergraduate years at Rutgers UniversityRutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
have continued their athletic careers professionally. A few became coaches, managers or owners of professional teams, including Alexi Lalas
Alexi Lalas
Panayotis Alexander Lalas is a retired American soccer player who played mostly as a defender for the United States national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup...
, Class of 1991, a former U.S. Soccer National Team member who is the current President & General Manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
, Eddie Jordan
Eddie Jordan (basketball)
Edward Montgomery "Eddie" Jordan is a retired American professional basketball player and former coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards and Sacramento Kings in the NBA.-Collegiate and pro career:...
, Class of 1977, who was Head Coach of the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
, Sonny Werblin
Sonny Werblin
David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the New York Jets, Chairman of Madison Square Gardens, and who built and managed the Meadowlands Sports Complex.A graduate of Rutgers University, Werblin went to work for Music...
, Class of 1932, who was founder of the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, and Jeff Torborg, Class of 1963, a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Catcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
and California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
who went on to manage several teams in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
and coaches of college athletic teams, including Jim Valvano
Jim Valvano
James Thomas Anthony "Jim" Valvano , nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball coach.While the head basketball coach at North Carolina State University, he won the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament against high odds...
, Class of 1967, who while coach at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
won 1983 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1983 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1983 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 52 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 2, 1983, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at The Pit, then officially known...
. Also notable, David Stern
David Stern
David Joel Stern is the commissioner of the National Basketball Association. He started with the Association in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as General Counsel, and became the league's Executive Vice President in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984 succeeding Larry O'Brien...
, a member of the Class of 1963, who is the current commissioner of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA)—a post he has occupied since 1984.
Jon Conway
Jon Conway
Jon Conway is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.-Youth and college:...
, Class of 1999, is the current goalkeeper for Chivas USA and Josh Gros
Josh Gros
Joshua Gros is a retired American soccer player.Joshua Gros is currently an assistant coach with the Northern Virginia Royals of the USL Premier Development League. On June 11, 2009, Philadelphia Union, a Major League Soccer club that will play in 2010, hired Grosto be its team coordinator...
, Class of 2003 was a midfielder for D.C. United
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...
in American Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
. Players that went on to the National Football League include: Deron Cherry
Deron Cherry
Deron Leigh Cherry is a retired professional American football strong safety who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1981 to 1991. Deron was a free safety and punter at Rutgers University. In 1979, he was named the team’s MVP. In 1979 and 1980, Cherry earned AP All-East honors...
, Class of 1980, (Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
) member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
The NFL 1980s All-Decade Team was chosen by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the 1980s...
, Quarterback Ray Lucas
Ray Lucas
For the baseball player of the same name, see Ray Lucas Ray Lucas is a studio analyst for the show Jets Nation on New York City-based sports network SportsNet New York...
, class of 1996, (New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
1996-2002), Quarterback Mike McMahon, Class of 2001 (Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
), Center Shaun O'Hara
Shaun O'Hara
Shaun O'Hara is an American football center in the National Football League who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Rutgers University, and has been in the NFL since 2000, having begun his pro career as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns...
, Class of 2000, (New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
), Tight End L.J. Smith, Class of 2003, (Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
), Middle Linebacker Gary Brackett
Gary Brackett
Gary Lawrence Brackett is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Rutgers.-Early years:Brackett attended Glassboro High School in Glassboro, New Jersey....
, Class of 2002, Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, and Tight End Marco Battaglia
Marco Battaglia
Marco Antonio Battaglia is a former American football tight end in the National Football League who played for five different teams. Battaglia played college football at Rutgers University and was chosen in second round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals...
, Class of 1996, (Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
) Brian Leonard
Brian Leonard
-St. Louis Rams:On April 28, 2007, Leonard was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the second round with the 52nd overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. Leonard signed a four-year, $2.8 million contract on July 24, 2007, that includes $1.55 million in guaranteed money. Coach Scott Linehan decided to use...
(Class of 2007, drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 2nd of the 2007 NFL Draft), Kenny Britt
Kenny Britt
-Tennessee Titans:Kenny Britt was drafted in the 1st round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He was Rutgers' first ever first-round pick. This was a surprising pick because many thought that he would be selected by the New York Giants with the pick immediately before the Titans picked...
(Class of 2010, drafted by the Tennessee Titans 1st round of the 2009 NFL Draft)and Heisman Trophy candidate Ray Rice
Ray Rice
Raymell Maurice Rice is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. He is currently ranked as the Baltimore Ravens third all-time rusher in...
(Class of 2009, drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 NFL Draft), Offensive Guard Darnell Stapelton, who started for the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers during the championship game. David DeJesus
David DeJesus
David Christopher DeJesus is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball.-Career:DeJesus was raised in Manalapan Township, New Jersey, and played high school baseball at Manalapan High School. He was drafted out of high school by the New York Mets in...
is currently a center-fielder for the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
. Rutgers' successeful Women's Basketball program have sent several women to the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
(WNBA), including Sue Wicks
Sue Wicks
Sue Wicks is a former basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association . She played with the New York Liberty from 1997 to 2002. She currently serves as a collegiate basketball coach.-Early Basketball Career:Wicks played for Rutgers University from 1984 to 1988...
, Class of 1988, who played for the New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...
from 1997 to 2002, and was a member of the American team in the 1988 Summer Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and most recently Cappie Pondexter
Cappie Pondexter
Cappie Pondexter is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the New York Liberty in the WNBA. She was born in Oceanside, California and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Pondexter is known for her scrappy play, quick crossovers and deadly midrange jumpshot...
, Class of 2006, of the Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...
and Tammy Sutton-Brown
Tammy Sutton-Brown
Tamara "Tammy" Kim Sutton-Brown is a Canadian professional women's basketball player in the WNBA. Her primary position is center.-High school years:...
, Class of 2001, with the Charlotte Sting
Charlotte Sting
The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....
. Among Rutgers Men's Basketball, Roy Hinson
Roy Hinson
Roy Hinson is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1st round of the 1983 NBA Draft. Hinson attended Franklin H.S. in Franklin Township, New Jersey. He then spent his college career at Rutgers University in nearby New Brunswick, NJ...
, class of 1982, has been a long-time player in the league, and Quincy Douby
Quincy Douby
Quincy Douby is an Haitian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. At 6'3", 175 lb, Douby played shooting guard for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights...
was drafted in 2006 as a guard for the Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
.
The Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
winners from 2007-2009 each had a Rutgers Undrafted free agent start for them:
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
- Gary Brackett
Gary Brackett
Gary Lawrence Brackett is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Rutgers.-Early years:Brackett attended Glassboro High School in Glassboro, New Jersey....
- Middle linebacker - Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
- Shaun O'Hara
Shaun O'Hara
Shaun O'Hara is an American football center in the National Football League who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Rutgers University, and has been in the NFL since 2000, having begun his pro career as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns...
- Center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
- New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
- Darnell Stapleton
Darnell Stapleton
Darnell Robert Stapleton is an American football offensive lineman who is currently retired due to knee injuries. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
- Offensive guard - Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
Rutgers-Newark
Rutgers-Newark fields teams for NCAA Division III competition in Men's and Women's Soccer, BasketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
(women), Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(men) and Softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
(women). The Men's Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
team is the only NCAA Division I sport on the campus. Their teams are known as the "Scarlet Raiders." Built in 1977, the Golden Dome Athletic Center is the hub of Rutgers-Newark athletics, seating 2,000. Soccer and softball games are held on Alumni Field, while the Rutgers-Newark baseball team plays at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium
Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium
Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium is a 6,200-seat baseball park in Newark, New Jersey, USA, that hosted its first regular season baseball game on July 16,1999, with former 1940's bear Yogi Berra throwing the ceremonial first pitch, as the tenants of the facility, the Newark Bears, took on the...
, a 6,200-seat ballpark that is home to the Newark Bears
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...
, a minor-league professional baseball franchise.
Rutgers-Camden
Rutgers-Camden fields teams for NCAA Division III competition in Men's and Women's CrewSport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, Cross Country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, Soccer, Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Indoor Track, Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(men), Softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
(women), and Track and Field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. Their teams are known as the "Scarlet Raptors." In 2006, Rutgers-Camden won the NCAA Division III Softball championship, defeating two-time defending champion St. Thomas, 3-2 to capture the school's first national title. Rutgers-Camden basketball also holds the unfortunate distinction of the longest losing streak in college basketball, set in 1997. The team was disbanded, but student outcry lead to a re-instatement. Rutgers-Camden broke its NCAA-record 117-game losing streak with a 77-72 victory over Bloomfield College. Though yet to post a winning season, the team has returned somewhat to respectability.
See also
- Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
- Rutgers-NewarkRutgers-NewarkRutgers University in Newark is one of three campuses of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the eighth oldest college in the United States and a member of the Association of American Universities...
- Rutgers-CamdenRutgers-CamdenRutgers University in Camden, New Jersey, USA , is a state-funded, coeducational, public, research university. Founded in the 1920s, Rutgers–Camden began as an amalgam of the South Jersey Law School and the College of South Jersey. It is the southernmost of the three regional campuses of Rutgers,...
- College athleticsCollege athleticsCollege athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
- Colonial collegesColonial collegesThe Colonial Colleges are nine institutions of higher education chartered in the American Colonies before the United States of America became a sovereign nation after the American Revolution. These nine have long been considered together, notably in the survey of their origins in the 1907 The...
- Public IvyPublic IvyPublic Ivy is a term coined by Richard Moll in his 1985 book Public Ivies: A Guide to America's best public undergraduate colleges and universities to refer to universities which "provide an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price." Public Ivies are considered, according to the...
- Big East ConferenceBig East ConferenceThe Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
Books and printed materials
- Demarest, William Henry Steele. History of Rutgers College: 1776-1924. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers College, 1924). (No ISBN)
- Leitch, A Princeton Companion (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1978).
- Lukac, George J. (ed.), Aloud to Alma Mater. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966), 70-73. (No ISBN)
- McCormick, Richard P. Rutgers: a Bicentennial History. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1966). ISBN 0-8135-0521-6
- Schmidt, George P. Princeton and Rutgers: The Two Colonial Colleges of New Jersey. (Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1964). (No ISBN)
Online resources
- Division I-A Historical Scores Index by James Howell.