Originally Posted by Bill McPeek
As a NJ resident and taxpayer I can't say I'm happy about how my tax dollars are being spent down at "The Banks of the Old Raritan." All that glitters is not gold. A somewhat lengthy read but worth the time. I wonder how many other schools are in the same boat?
https://www.njherald.com/in-depth/ne...en/8047865002/
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My time growing up in NJ I remember when Rutgers was an independent. They played Princeton in the annual rivalry game. They also played the likes of Lehigh in PA among others. Although a 'state' university, the standards to get into that place was pretty high. I knew smart people (well at least smarter than I!
) who didn't get in but put on the wait list if at all.
I also thought at the time the Rutgers people thought of themselves as a pseudo IVY League establishment. I believe it was sometime in the early 70's after many residents of NJ had been complaining for years that Rutgers established 'Livingston College' to let in more people that where not being accepted to the 'regular' Colleges.
There is a disconnect in NJ that is hard to explain. There is a strong and vocal group that believes too much is placed on athletics and then there is a vocal group who believed that Rutgers was (not
could be mind you) an established force in some phases of their athletic prowess. Witness some success in BB and while in the BEast their FB program.
Getting accepted into the B10 was validation that they
BELONGED.
Only it proved to be a mirage as seen by the performance in that conference.
For those of you who don't know, Rutgers and Princeton played what is claimed to be the very first FB game on a site in Piscataway NJ across the river from the campus. Years ago when a group of people wanted to establish a 'College Football Hall of Fame', it was proposed to be near that site.
Per Wikipedia: Rutgers donated land near its football stadium, office space, and administrative support. After years of collecting donations for the construction of the building with ground not having been broken and no plans to do so, the New Jersey Attorney General began an investigation of the finances of the Hall of Fame's foundation, the National Football Foundation.
Was it Jersey politics corrupting the situation? Don't know. But it never happened. But reading that article that you provided shows that as much as things change maybe nothing really does.