RUskoolie said:

I literally sit on a fundraising board at Rutgers. We talk about this stuff every time and go over really interesting data. The key is to get people to give to RU, no matter the amount. Very few people stop giving to the same cause each year and its much easier to get them to give more once it's a habit.

Click to expand...

Yes . That’s why I said I agree with your take here.

rutgersal said:

Look at the box score. We were significantly outrebounded by Kennesaw State. That probably doesn’t happen if Cliff is patrolling the paint.

Click to expand...

Plus, Kennesaw State has a glorious Fieldhouse, the best for three miles around, and blows us away in NIL reserves.

Nobody expects RU to be ever be a usual top 10-20 program, and NIL is probably a factor in why, but it’s not the reason why we’re 10-10 with a shitty BIg10 roster more than three-fourths comprised of rusted tomato cans and Staten Island landfill.

Pike had grand portal upgrade plans expecting to recruit over existing players who moved down a level for more PT, not for NIL. Instead we’ve got the Martini, Derkack,Hayes and Acuff million-ton anchor.

Sommerville isn’t a legit Big10 big man either. He’s a mid-major backup big.

And then don’t even get Shelby started about the JMiss horror show on both ends of the court.

So no, it’s not about NIL. It’s about a complete miss on almost everyone coming and going for the last few years.

I am not reading this thread. The first page was enough. Maybe this was already covered, but I think some here don't get how many long time college fans fundamentally reject the premise that it is now the individual fans responsibility to cover the cost of being successful in a college athletic program. We might as well pay coaches a lot less and redeploy most of those fund to player procurement if that is the case.

While I struggle mightily with the changes in the financial landscape of college athletics, how did this NIL concept morph into fans paying the "annual compensation" to a lot of minor league level athletes? Do the Binghamton Rumble Ponies or the Westchester Knicks ask the same of their fans? Why is there absolutely no transparency around of any of this? Yet some expect the majority who might contribute to just blindly throw money into the pot and trust that it will be well spent?

I knew from Day 1 this "NIL/Pay for Play" environment would be a struggle for a school like RU, which is located in an area where the cost of living is high and there are many other sports and entertainment alternatives that preclude the building of a large rabid fan base that has nothing better to do with their money that support good ole state U. Its not happening here. When schools like Ohio State are reporting $38MM athletic dept deficits, things are worse than I imagined. Change takes time but until it happens again be prepared for our programs to struggle. The most recent settlement is not the final answer if NIL and Pay for Play remains as sweetners to whatever schools are going to directly pay their "student" athletes.

Pike took a risk when he accepted this opportunity that presented itself. I don't fault him for taking the shot, but it has not worked out thus far and the downside harm to his program longer term maybe greater than he anticipated. If some of you want to make the case its not his fault and it my fault as a declining fan of the program, feel free, because I really don't that much anymore what happens. That is a shame but life is too short.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

RUDivision said:

Where are your seats?

You absolute recoup the costs of students being moved in by the sweet costs. I

Click to expand...

113, Row E
And, if some wealthy donor comes in during the reno and shells out 10k per seat and I have to move, I'm good w/it as it generates money for the program

Same with my old Devils seats at the Meadowlands
And my Jets seats at Giants Stadium

And no, you don't recoup the costs - kids don't become future donors and season ticket holders b/c you move them from behind the basket to the sideline - they do it b/c of the experience they had, largely in part to the team's performance, which is immensely helped by generateing $$ for the program (NIL and other)

Again, you're redoing the Rac to generate $$ - this is taking $$ out of our hands for no good reason

Plum Street said:

Yes agree in this case .
But also it’s ok to realize that some people close to a situation or actually has some relationships can be blinded by it and not be objective.

Click to expand...

I literally sit on a fundraising board at Rutgers. We talk about this stuff every time and go over really interesting data. The key is to get people to give to RU, no matter the amount. Very few people stop giving to the same cause each year and its much easier to get them to give more once it's a habit.

There are some factors such as only 6 home games (they'll have 8 this year) and Holtmann's huge buyout But yeah, it was atill kind of surprising

I don't think OP is wrong about them needing time but they can develop in the NBA making gazillions as top 5 picks, not playing for .500 Rutgers who can barely run an offensive set or recruit P4 capable starters to compliment them.

jaydogsmooth1 said:

Student sideline is an awful idea
We're redoing the Rac to generate much needed $$

You already have, when the team is halfway decent, a top 10, borderline top 5 arena, in the nation
You don't need to move the students to the sideline as you already have a raucous atmosphere

Additionally, since the name of the game is $$, you're losing loads of it by not selling those primo seats to big $$ people, and, in addition, pissing off people who currently sit there and have been loyal supporters for years

Simply put, it's overkill and defeats the entire purpose of redoing the arena to begin with

Click to expand...

Where are your seats?

You absolute recoup the costs of students being moved in by the sweet costs. I

BillyC80 said:

Until we’re mathematically eliminated from the B1G tourney we still have a chance to win our way into the big dance.

Also, I believe finishing 8-3 in the regular season will put us on the bubble. That would require winning our remaining 5 home games plus 3 road games. It can be done.

Has to start with a W at Northwestern.

And we need Dylan at 80% or better, 25 or more productive minutes per game the rest of the way.

Let’s do it.

Click to expand...

Oh brother.

seansherm said:

yeah, I don't disagree, just saying just because the school finally decided to do it's part, you can't expect generations of abused fans to just fall in line and start pumping in more $. It will probably take a generation of people seeing RU try to be part of the solution before fans become another part.

Click to expand...

We don’t have a generation. We need support now. Fans have seen how he’s gotten us to the tournament, he can do so again. He just needs the support.

RexMantlepiece said:

Pretty sure Skoolie has waaaayyyy more actual real insight to RU athletics than the usual dudes in the post.

Click to expand...

Yes agree in this case .
But also it’s ok to realize that some people close to a situation or actually has some relationships can be blinded by it and not be objective.

Greene Rice FIG said:

What are the terms?

You can't compare someone who is compensated based on how he does in the future vs. someone who is compensated based on how he has done in the past.

Coaches get paid a set amount of money and CEOs get paid differentlky

Click to expand...

Motion to change your user name to CMU block because you are that dense on so many basketball topics its impressive.

NET up a spot to 82

Northwestern remains 49.

Greene Rice FIG said:

I am sorry....Pike is my age. He has kids that are my age. He chose to end his career here to coach and he understood recruiting was part of his job. He was offered the contract by Rutgers to coach and recruit.

I am sure the last thing he wants to do is to meet with wealthy donors. He didn't sign a contract to do that. I don't expect him to spend much time doing this.

Does that mean he falls behind? probably

Should Pike walk away from a contract that Rutgers offered him because he is now asked to do something completely different than what he signed to do? NO

That is up to RU to decide how to handle and whether both parties need to get together and work out a deal if Pike doesnt want to do it and RU thinks it is completely necessary.

Click to expand...

NIL aside it is absolutely the head coaches job to talk with donors and make them feel connected.

Greene Rice FIG said:

I am sorry....Pike is my age. He has kids that are my age. He chose to end his career here to coach and he understood recruiting was part of his job. He was offered the contract by Rutgers to coach and recruit.

I am sure the last thing he wants to do is to meet with wealthy donors. He didn't sign a contract to do that. I don't expect him to spend much time doing this.

Does that mean he falls behind? probably

Should Pike walk away from a contract that Rutgers offered him because he is now asked to do something completely different than what he signed to do? NO

That is up to RU to decide how to handle and whether both parties need to get together and work out a deal if Pike doesnt want to do it and RU thinks it is completely necessary.

Click to expand...

Respectfully if you have tickets you should be forced to give them up after your cable provider removes all big ten tv/internet channel providers. You have zero clue what a coaches responsibility are.

Do donors want to talk with AD Name here OR Pike?

Never use the letter N or I or L in any of your future thoughts

darkcheck said:

You do realize that’s your theory and not a proven fact. I seriously doubt the person who dropped $10MM on Maryland was a $25 a month guy in prior years.

Not hard to grasp the concept.

Click to expand...

I would have a better understanding of that than you. Big money people are not coming if they don't feel everyone is all in and yes SOME big money people started decades ago giving small amounts and gradually increased as their earnings increased.

rpiseman said:

Firstly, Hobbs should’ve been hitting every alumni with big and small wallets to fund NIL for this team. That was his job as AD and getting funding for this team was likely the most important task of his tenure.

Given how this season has gone and the fact that many of the transfers Pike handpicked wouldn’t be the best players at the Piscataway 24 hr Fitness, I don’t think anyone is giving him money to go out and build a roster. Pike has proven to be an extremely poor evaluator of talent.

Click to expand...

Hobbs would have said NIL fundraising was not in his contract. NIL fundraising is an additional scope of work, and he would have expected to have been compensated accordingly.

The President came out and said, we are going to go slow with this. So we were caught flat footed as we always are because Rutgers is slow to adapt. Ohio State, Miami, and UConn adapted quickly because they already had the apparatus in place to raise money, having done it for many years.

Knight Shift said:

January cold out like a lamb

Login to view embedded media

Click to expand...

Sad trombone

Greene Rice FIG said:

He signed a contract to coach basketball

Click to expand...

In that case based on his “coaching” since he signed that contract extension he has been awful at “ coaching basketball “. If it ls strictly on coaching and winning games then he should be fired the day after the season ends.

RUDivision said:

Rac Reno is dead! They lined up it perfectly to utilize the historic season of Ace and Harper. Well it’s historic for all the wrong reasons. Instead creating demand and fostering private donations it’s killed the excitement and energy losing all momentum. No President, No AD, amd a historically bad season does not build a stadium.

Students sideline is a great idea. Think of atmosphere and energy not your own self interest.

Click to expand...

Student sideline is a terrible idea. We do not need to follow the crowd. Just add some bathrooms, add seats in the corners make the 100 seats permanent on at least 1 side, make the 300s seat backs and build out 118. That's about all we need to do, it's not complicated.

Knight Shift said:

January cold out like a lamb

Login to view embedded media

Click to expand...

We definitely need the rain.

MadRU said:

Fruit

Click to expand...

Loops

Greene Rice FIG said:

Pike signed a big contract to coach the team and recruit. Going after big donors is t his responsibility.

Click to expand...

Then he should quit college basketball. If he does not realize how the game is played then simply go back to lower level college or high school and coach