I have NEVER seen our fan base so ready to abandon our program

[Scarlet Shack]

i have been gojng to Rutgers football and Rutgers basketball games as a season ticket holder for now over 40 years. I have 8 season tickets for football and 4 for basketball and my contribution to Rutgers is now close to five digits a year

So I’m a pretty damn good customer

More importantly... I’m an avid fan, and loyal son.

I grew up on Rutgers sports and I now take my sons to all the games. They are growing up on Rutgers.

And I have seen and sweated the past and know it all.

And I can tell you...that in 40 plus years...I have NEVER questioned why I am a Rutgers fan. Never. Not during Terry shea. Not during Craig Littlepage. Not having to wait 27 years for a bowl bid (I was at the garden state bowl). Now waiting almost 30 year for a NCAA bid

But I am now. We have blown all the benefits of the entrance to the big ten. The opportunity of all opportunities for this school athletic department.

And our school is at a threshold ...where thousands of fans are, at once, ready to give up on this program for good.

While I’m not there ...a lot of people who have been loyal fans for decades are there.

I know all the people around me in 105 for football. And almost none were there on Saturday. They don’t care ...and because the school doesn’t. And this is 105. Bigger donor territory and the loyal of the loyal.

I am telling you...if we don’t make a coaching change ...and make a change that we hire someone that will unite and rally this school fans for a long term build...then I bet we may be looking at a TEN thousand season ticket loss after this year. I am NOT kidding.

Criticize me for saying I’m over exaggerating ...but I don’t think so. I know the good fans that are staying away

It’s up to this school for once to make the real commitment to this program ...and it starts with not just firing the existing coach. Firing Chris ash, a nice man who is way over his head is only ONE step

This school must also hire a REAL coach and staff that will unite the fans of this program and have them on board for a build that isn’t going to be easy or short

Otherwise ...our fan base is going to exit and stay away like it never has before...and it will take a lot to get then all back.

It’s gojng to be easier to keep who is here by doing whatever needs to be done now in economic cost then to try to sell them on returning

Your move, Mr Hobbs, Mr Barchi and the Rutgers BOG

 

[Knight Shift]

i have been gojng to Rutgers football and Rutgers basketball games as a season ticket holder for now over 40 years. I have 8 season tickets for football and 4 for basketball and my contribution to Rutgers is now close to five digits a year

So I’m a pretty damn good customer

More importantly... I’m an avid fan, and loyal son.

I grew up on Rutgers sports and I now take my sons to all the games. They are growing up on Rutgers.

And I have seen and sweated the past and know it all.

And I can tell you...that in 40 plus years...I have NEVER questioned why I am a Rutgers fan. Never. Not during Terry shea. Not during Craig Littlepage. Not having to wait 27 years for a bowl bid (I was at the garden state bowl). Now waiting almost 30 year for a NCAA bid

But I am now. We have blown all the benefits of the entrance to the big ten. The opportunity of all opportunities for this school athletic department.

And our school is at a threshold ...where thousands of fans are, at once, ready to give up on this program for good.

While I’m not there ...a lot of people who have been loyal fans for decades are there.

I know all the people around me in 105 for football. And almost none where there on Saturday. They don’t care ...and because the school doesn’t. And this is 105. Big donor territory

I am telling you...if we don’t make a coaching change ...and make a change that we hire someone that will unite and rally this school fans for a long term build...then I bet we may be looking at a TEN thousand season ticket loss after this year. I am NOT kidding.

Criticize me for saying I’m over exaggerating ...but I don’t think so. I know the good fans that are staying away

It’s up to this school for once to make the real commitment to this program ...and it starts with not just firing the existing coach. Firing Chris ash, a nice man who is way over his heat is only ONE step

This school must also hire a REAL coach and staff that will unite the fans of this program and have them on board for a build that isn’t going to be easy or short

Otherwise ...our fan base is going to exit and stay away like it never has before...and it will take a lot to get then all back.

It’s gojng to be easier to keep who is here by doing whatever needs to be done now in economic cost then to try to sell them on returning

Your move, Mr Hobbs, Mr Barchi and the Rutgers BOG

Excellent post, and I respect your opinion.

Do you have any pull with Hobbs or anyone on the BOG?

 

[King of S]

Look at the bright side - less traffic on River Road and more tailgate space.

 

[bac2therac]

You have to go back to Flood's tailspin...that set the tone...we were promised something that we didnt get when he was canned. He has turned out worse than Elmer on the field and in recruiting. But I agree with you, I am sort of surprised how quickly people bailed this year and that the attendance numbers even surprise me. I think its a case of no hope. There is literally no playmakers on this team and its not like there are guys down the pipeline. Art may be good eventually but the defense is simply awful and this is an offense that cannot work with a freshmen qb. The team is a literal train wreck. You cannot follow up an embarrassment to Kansas but getting waxed by Buffalo.

Chris Ash must be fired. Next year will get really bad and it will look like year 2 of Eddie

 

[Jersey Boys]

I'm a 15 year season ticket holder. My group represents 12 tickets and a scholarship and we are all on the verge of calling it quits. There is nothing enjoyable about the game experience right now. Even my son is starting to hate going. I mention RU game and he drops his head because he finds it boring.

This is no joke and the situation is 10x worse than 2015. People have truly had it.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

You have to go back to Flood's tailspin...that set the tone...we were promised something that we didnt get when he was canned. He has turned out worse than Elmer on the field and in recruiting. But I agree with you, I am sort of surprised how quickly people bailed this year and that the attendance numbers even surprise me. I think its a case of no hope. There is literally no playmakers on this team and its not like there are guys down the pipeline. Art may be good eventually but the defense is simply awful and this is an offense that cannot work with a freshmen qb. The team is a literal train wreck. You cannot follow up an embarrassment to Kansas but getting waxed by Buffalo.

Chris Ash must be fired. Next year will get really bad and it will look like year 2 of Eddie

Bac

It’s worse than that

I’m telling you...there are people in 105 I have sat next to since the stadium rebuild in 1994...these are the people that have come every week, despite how bad we have been, and how bad the weather has been. And they always were there. Through thick and thin.
Bleed scarlet

Until now. I looked around me on Saturday five minutes in the first quarter ...and there was 5 people out of 50/60 that I know. Even in Terry shea’s Worse, half of the people would be there

Our best fans are ready to abandon in droves unless this school starts to show it cares

 

[letitrip2]

i have been gojng to Rutgers football and Rutgers basketball games as a season ticket holder for now over 40 years. I have 8 season tickets for football and 4 for basketball and my contribution to Rutgers is now close to five digits a year

So I’m a pretty damn good customer

More importantly... I’m an avid fan, and loyal son.

I grew up on Rutgers sports and I now take my sons to all the games. They are growing up on Rutgers.

And I have seen and sweated the past and know it all.

And I can tell you...that in 40 plus years...I have NEVER questioned why I am a Rutgers fan. Never. Not during Terry shea. Not during Craig Littlepage. Not having to wait 27 years for a bowl bid (I was at the garden state bowl). Now waiting almost 30 year for a NCAA bid

But I am now. We have blown all the benefits of the entrance to the big ten. The opportunity of all opportunities for this school athletic department.

And our school is at a threshold ...where thousands of fans are, at once, ready to give up on this program for good.

While I’m not there ...a lot of people who have been loyal fans for decades are there.

I know all the people around me in 105 for football. And almost none were there on Saturday. They don’t care ...and because the school doesn’t. And this is 105. Bigger donor territory and the loyal of the loyal.

I am telling you...if we don’t make a coaching change ...and make a change that we hire someone that will unite and rally this school fans for a long term build...then I bet we may be looking at a TEN thousand season ticket loss after this year. I am NOT kidding.

Criticize me for saying I’m over exaggerating ...but I don’t think so. I know the good fans that are staying away

It’s up to this school for once to make the real commitment to this program ...and it starts with not just firing the existing coach. Firing Chris ash, a nice man who is way over his head is only ONE step

This school must also hire a REAL coach and staff that will unite the fans of this program and have them on board for a build that isn’t going to be easy or short

Otherwise ...our fan base is going to exit and stay away like it never has before...and it will take a lot to get then all back.

It’s gojng to be easier to keep who is here by doing whatever needs to be done now in economic cost then to try to sell them on returning

Your move, Mr Hobbs, Mr Barchi and the Rutgers BOG

Fabulous post!! The school is at a crossroads - it is critical that a leader emerges and fixes this mess.

 

[Jersey Boys]

You have to go back to Flood's tailspin...that set the tone...we were promised something that we didnt get when he was canned. He has turned out worse than Elmer on the field and in recruiting. But I agree with you, I am sort of surprised how quickly people bailed this year and that the attendance numbers even surprise me. I think its a case of no hope. There is literally no playmakers on this team and its not like there are guys down the pipeline. Art may be good eventually but the defense is simply awful and this is an offense that cannot work with a freshmen qb. The team is a literal train wreck. You cannot follow up an embarrassment to Kansas but getting waxed by Buffalo.

Chris Ash must be fired. Next year will get really bad and it will look like year 2 of Eddie

His BS press conference after Kansas where he sat there and whined like a baby really pissed my entire crew off. Had he got up there like a man and was honest that they stunk the joint up and he would take responsibility and fix it I at least would have had some respect. But that lame ass press conference he gave pissed me off to no end. I didn't need to see more after that.

 

[Jersey Boys]

Bac

It’s worse than that

I’m telling you...there are people in 105 I have sat next to since the stadium rebuild in 1994...these are the people that have come every week, despite how bad we have been, and how bad the weather has been. And they always were there. Through thick and thin.
Bleed scarlet

Until now. I looked around me on Saturday five minutes in the first quarter ...and there was 5 people out of 50/60 that I know. Even in Terry shea’s Worse, half of the people would be there

Our best fans are ready to abandon in droves unless this school starts to show it cares

I sit in 127. Couldn't recognize half the people. I'm not attending homecoming for the first time since I can remember. Would rather visit a sick family member which is what we plan on doing.

 

[brgRC90]

It's a little silly to say the school hasn't shown it cares. It has sunk tons of money into the football program and hired what would seem to be a legitimate choice for head coach three years ago.

 

[soundcrib]

I hope that exact message you crafted officially made it’s way to Hobbs, Shack.

 

[WhiteBus]

I have no problem with people that want to go down with the ship.

I have no problem with people looking for better things to do with there entertainment money and more importantly their time.

I do have a huge problem with either side calling the other out. Please stop proclaiming that you are a better fan either way. Many of us have been going through this before most were born.

Respect the decision of either viewpoint.

Threads like this are unnecessary.

 

[RU Cheese]

I hope that exact message you crafted officially made it’s way to Hobbs, Shack.

Yes. I don’t donate close to five figures a year so my comments don’t matter. But if everyone like you made sure they’re feelings / potential changes were known, that’s a step.

 

[ashokan]

Football is too expensive, and has too much attendance rigamarole for teams to be so insipid every year. How many blowouts can people sit through? RU tasted success so its even harder to go back to the past follies.

I think RU did make a try to do things right after firing Flood. On paper, the hiring of Meyer's championship DC with B1G stain made sense. I'm sure Ash is a good football guy and hard worker but he's not recruiting and developing the way he should. Year three should show something but its not. With the new ease of transferring, I wouldn't be surprised to read Sit left for better scene. On defense you can get away with "athletes" but offense needs a little more cultivation and I dont see it with this crew. The Fordham team that was good a few years ago (beat Temple and Army ) would be blowing RU up.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

i have been gojng to Rutgers football and Rutgers basketball games as a season ticket holder for now over 40 years. I have 8 season tickets for football and 4 for basketball and my contribution to Rutgers is now close to five digits a year

So I’m a pretty damn good customer

More importantly... I’m an avid fan, and loyal son.

I grew up on Rutgers sports and I now take my sons to all the games. They are growing up on Rutgers.

And I have seen and sweated the past and know it all.

And I can tell you...that in 40 plus years...I have NEVER questioned why I am a Rutgers fan. Never. Not during Terry shea. Not during Craig Littlepage. Not having to wait 27 years for a bowl bid (I was at the garden state bowl). Now waiting almost 30 year for a NCAA bid

But I am now. We have blown all the benefits of the entrance to the big ten. The opportunity of all opportunities for this school athletic department.

And our school is at a threshold ...where thousands of fans are, at once, ready to give up on this program for good.

While I’m not there ...a lot of people who have been loyal fans for decades are there.

I know all the people around me in 105 for football. And almost none were there on Saturday. They don’t care ...and because the school doesn’t. And this is 105. Bigger donor territory and the loyal of the loyal.

I am telling you...if we don’t make a coaching change ...and make a change that we hire someone that will unite and rally this school fans for a long term build...then I bet we may be looking at a TEN thousand season ticket loss after this year. I am NOT kidding.

Criticize me for saying I’m over exaggerating ...but I don’t think so. I know the good fans that are staying away

It’s up to this school for once to make the real commitment to this program ...and it starts with not just firing the existing coach. Firing Chris ash, a nice man who is way over his head is only ONE step

This school must also hire a REAL coach and staff that will unite the fans of this program and have them on board for a build that isn’t going to be easy or short

Otherwise ...our fan base is going to exit and stay away like it never has before...and it will take a lot to get then all back.

It’s gojng to be easier to keep who is here by doing whatever needs to be done now in economic cost then to try to sell them on returning

Your move, Mr Hobbs, Mr Barchi and the Rutgers BOG

Agreed.. under Mulcahy and Pernetti I always had the sense that they were working toward winning.. tough clearly budget controlled Pernetti in keeping Flood.

Hobbs is likely benefiting from Big Ten exposure in getting donors.. but with these results I think his well will prove to be dried up now.

Clearly Barchi doesn't give a damn... not until someone comes for his job. Until then he will throw everyone else under the bus. Barchi was supposed to be here to assure the medical school and hospital integrations went well.. mission accomplished. Time to find someone who can head a big Ten university and all that that means.

 

[Knight Shift]

You have to go back to Flood's tailspin...that set the tone...we were promised something that we didnt get when he was canned. He has turned out worse than Elmer on the field and in recruiting. But I agree with you, I am sort of surprised how quickly people bailed this year and that the attendance numbers even surprise me. I think its a case of no hope. There is literally no playmakers on this team and its not like there are guys down the pipeline. Art may be good eventually but the defense is simply awful and this is an offense that cannot work with a freshmen qb. The team is a literal train wreck. You cannot follow up an embarrassment to Kansas but getting waxed by Buffalo.

Chris Ash must be fired. Next year will get really bad and it will look like year 2 of Eddie

You know that I hung on to the bitter end with Flood--until the botched meeting with the Dance Appreciation TA surfaced. I generally stand by who the administration supports.

But I can't say I support Ash. I am hanging by a thread, but ready to bail. I will obligatorily renew my tickets for next year. But as far as athletics donations beyond our B1G Build commitment, we are done. We have been talking about shifting donations to academics anyway. Money that would be much better spent than what we are seeing on the field now.

I never felt this way under Flood, even after the scandal broke. At least Flood's game day coaching, while subpar, was not the total incompetence we have seen the last 3 seasons. Even in his last year when things were really unraveling, his worst loss was 49-7 to Ohio State. Chris Ash lost to Kansas by nearly the same margin.

 

[theRU]

It's a little silly to say the school hasn't shown it cares. It has sunk tons of money into the football program and hired what would seem to be a legitimate choice for head coach three years ago.

It sunk money to expand and it paid off.. BIG invite. Thats worth the investment- wouldnt you agree?

Since then, we hired and kept Flood way too long. We then made a surface hire with Ash (supposed good pedigree) but then armed him with a tiny assistant coach pool.

 

[fatsam98]

My concern is that because Hobbs et al haven't been here long, they may not understand/appreciate the current mindset of the long-time fan. What Shack lays out is the reality - if they think season ticket sales will trend down next year in line with the gradual decline we've seen since Schiano left, they are in for a shock. Season tickets WILL fall off a cliff next year absent something drastic happening.

 

[theRU]

You know that I hung on to the bitter end with Flood--until the botched meeting with the Dance Appreciation TA surfaced. I generally stand by who the administration supports.

But I can't say I support Ash. I am hanging by a thread, but ready to bail. I will obligatorily renew my tickets for next year. But as far as athletics donations beyond our B1G Build commitment, we are done. We have been talking about shifting donations to academics anyway. Money that would be much better spent than what we are seeing on the field now.

I never felt this way under Flood, even after the scandal broke. At least Flood's game day coaching, while subpar, wast not the total incompetence we have seen the last 3 seasons. Even in his last year when things were really unraveling, his worst loss was 49-7 to Ohio State. Chris Ash lost to Kansas by nearly the same margin.

I still think its because Flood left everything bare for Ash.. We had no talent left, he clearly can't recruit either, and all the losses with the CC things surely dont bode well for an already bare roster.

 

[Silvers88]

WB, go back and read the original post; Shack is not calling anyone out. He is simply imploring the administration to act before all the good fans have left.

I have no problem with people that want to go down with the ship.

I have no problem with people looking for better things to do with there entertainment money and more importantly their time.

I do have a huge problem with either side calling the other out. Please stop proclaiming that you are a better fan either way. Many of us have been going through this before most were born.

Respect the decision of either viewpoint.

Threads like this are unnecessary.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Shack - as always, great post.

Reasons for the Apathy:

1 - Ash nor his staff have ever endeared themselves to the fanbase; to the university or to the State.
2 - Fans can analyze and assess how far over his head Ash is.
3 - There is no reason for optimism or even a glimmer of hope watching the product on the field - though I do feel that with proper coaching and experience - Sitkowski can be really good.
4 - Look at our "peers" in the conference - Maryland; Indiana; Purdue; Minnesota etc - and they have improved and have vibrant HC's.
5 - Getting routed every week by the likes of Kansas; Buffalo; Illinois and Indiana is to much for us to endure.

Sadly the hints were there at the beginning of Ash's tenure:

1 - The disaster of a decision to stay on at OSU for a meaningless bowl game
2 - The aloofness and blame others game that Ash excels at.
3 - 78-0 Michigan
4 - Eastern Michigan

We all then had optimism after winning 3 Big 10 games last year only for a poopshow of poopshows to follow with no hope in sight

 

[JoeRU0304]

Bac

It’s worse than that

I’m telling you...there are people in 105 I have sat next to since the stadium rebuild in 1994...these are the people that have come every week, despite how bad we have been, and how bad the weather has been. And they always were there. Through thick and thin.
Bleed scarlet

Until now. I looked around me on Saturday five minutes in the first quarter ...and there was 5 people out of 50/60 that I know. Even in Terry shea’s Worse, half of the people would be there

Our best fans are ready to abandon in droves unless this school starts to show it cares

Your last line says it all. With Shea, we were outmanned and our guys would get beat but it was because we just weren’t good. For the most part you can tell we were at least trying...now, we look listless, clueless and like we’re just going through to motions...all while being told it’s a rebuild, like we’re all f****** stupid or being gaslighted by the administration. I went through the Shea years and endured the s***show embarrassments that were the 2013 and 2015 seasons under Flood, along with watching everything Schiano built get washed away; I’m not doing this again with Ash.


Joe P.

 

[RUDave_01]

Sadly the hints were there at the beginning of Ash's tenure:

1 - The disaster of a decision to stay on at OSU for a meaningless bowl game
2 - The aloofness and blame others game that Ash excels at.
3 - 78-0 Michigan
4 - Eastern Michigan

We all then had optimism after winning 3 Big 10 games last year only for a poopshow of poopshows to follow with no hope in sight

I would add a fifth one where he threw out any semblance of tradition that the program had and made it sound like we had no recent success and anything good would come from him. I remember noting it at the time, but it didn't raise up the warning that it should have.

 

[dollarbill]

2019 Home games. UMass, BC, MD, Minn, Liberty, tOSU, MSU. Other than tOSU, you'll be able to buy good seats for the other six games for around $100 total with no donations. Dynamic pricing is a double edged sword. So is taking in Stubhub as an official ticket outlet. The same consultants that pushed the ticket prices to the limit in our first few years in the B1G are now going to have a new model to deal with. Good luck. The OP is forecasting a real possibility of a collapse in the finances of this program. It is for this reason that I believe this coach is gone. It all comes down to the economics, as usual. $$$$

 

[WhiteBus]

WB, go back and read the original post; Shack is not calling anyone out. He is simply imploring the administration to act before all the good fans have left.

I read the entire post. I can't get past the title with the word "abandoned" a shot to many on here that have supported this team with money and precious free time. Its a post to shame all that need a very deserved time out. Uncalled for.
Its another thread "look at me, Im a better fan then you" post

 

[OC Knight]

Shack - as always, great post.

Reasons for the Apathy:

2 - The aloofness and blame others game that Ash excels at.

This irks me above all else.

 

[TheHandOfChaos]

I still think its because Flood left everything bare for Ash.. We had no talent left, he clearly can't recruit either, and all the losses with the CC things surely dont bode well for an already bare roster.

This doesn't make any sense, because we were clearly better on the field in 2016 and 2017 with mostly Flood leftovers starting.

 

[BoroKnight]

I read the entire post. I can't get past the title with the word "abandoned" a shot to many on here that have supported this team with money and precious free time. Its a post to shame all that need a very deserved time out. Uncalled for.
Its another thread "look at me, Im a better fan then you" post

Do not agree with this at all. Especially since he is basically saying that true die-hard fans are now not showing up and soon will be giving up season tickets. Sounds more like a warning shot across the bow of Mr. Hobbs' desk to me.

 

[RUPete]

I read the entire post. I can't get past the title with the word "abandoned" a shot to many on here that have supported this team with money and precious free time. Its a post to shame all that need a very deserved time out. Uncalled for.
Its another thread "look at me, Im a better fan then you" post

You’re being way too sensitive here. Didn’t read it that way at all.

 

[RUboston]

The RU fans aren't even asking for much. We are an extremely tolerant fan base. We're not demanding Top Ten /playoff contending teams.

We know we're in the Big Ten East, one of the toughest, if not the toughest, divisions in CFB. Beat teams like Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Buffalo. Heck, just be competitive with them and maybe even lose to them as long as the games are exciting 24-21 nail biters and we show some fight and some progress and a certain level of competence on offense and defense. Give us a glimmer of hope and we'll be with you.

Lose to tOSU by a score of 35-10 and we'll not be happy, but we'll see the glass as half full and say we only lost by 4 scores, not 7 or 8. Make PSU sweat a little bit for the first half and put up a fight. Don't let Michigan and Harbaugh rack up 78 points on us at home (or away).

If we were 1-5 at this point with the losses averaging 7 points or less with some semblance of offensive and defensive capability, and the team showing some pride and grit, and the coaching coming up with plays and schemes that were working a little, most would see the positives.

Again, we're not asking for much in return for our time, money and emotional investment. Compete. Give us well played and coached games vs. the lower tier opponents and win some of them. Make the elite teams have to at least work for a victory against us and not get blown out from the opening series.

 

[ClassOf02]

The RU fans aren't even asking for much. We are an extremely tolerant fan base. We're not demanding Top Ten /playoff contending teams.

We know we're in the Big Ten East, one of the toughest, if not the toughest, divisions in CFB. Beat teams like Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Buffalo. Heck, just be competitive with them and maybe even lose to them as long as the games are exciting 24-21 nail biters and we show some fight and some progress and a certain level of competence on offense and defense. Give us a glimmer of hope and we'll be with you.

Lose to tOSU by a score of 35-10 and we'll not be happy, but we'll see the glass as half full and say we only lost by 4 scores, not 7 or 8. Make PSU sweat a little bit for the first half and put up a fight. Don't let Michigan and Harbaugh rack up 78 points on us at home (or away).

If we were 1-5 at this point with the losses averaging 7 points or less with some semblance of offensive and defensive capability, and the team showing some pride and grit, and the coaching coming up with plays and schemes that were working a little, most would see the positives.

Again, we're not asking for much in return for our time, money and emotional investment. Compete. Give us well played and coached games vs. the lower tier opponents and win some of them. Make the elite teams have to at least work for a victory against us and not get blown out from the opening series.

Well said. We don't ask for much. We just ask to not be embarrassed. Alas.....

 

[willisneverrana43]

. . . Would rather visit a sick family member which is what we plan on doing.

Well, you know, you should be doing that.

 

[BoogieKnight]

We have blown all the benefits of the entrance to the big ten. The opportunity of all opportunities for this school athletic department.

I think this is the major difference between now and the Shea Era. Rutgers is doing precisely what we all feared and many predicted we would wind up doing...taking the cash and not seriously investing back into sports.

First let me say that while not a basketball fan anymore (I just hate the sport, nothing to do with Rutgers), I think that men's hoops has the right guy leading it and in another year or two we will enjoy the most success we've seen since the 70's and early 80's. But I think schools like Gonzaga and Butler have proven that conference affiliation really doesn't mean as much when it comes to building a basketball power. That said, being in the B1G certainly has boosted the profile of our wrestling program as they are well on their way to possibly becoming a national power. Women's soccer is also thriving on a national level. And our "Olympic sports" programs have a golden opportunity to eventually do special things that wouldn't otherwise be possible if we were still affiliated with the Big East or AAC.

The elephant in the room is football.You simply cannot hide being bad in football, especially when you play in one of the top two college football conferences in the land. It is as much your identity and brand as academics are (sorry Bob Barchi but this is true). I have women I work with who don't know the first thing about sports or college football but they know that Rutgers is terrible in football. No offense to the basketball folks on here but when Eddie Jordan was losing by 70 to Louisville no one outside of Rutgers or at most the college basketball world really knew or cared. But football is a different animal. A friend's son is looking at colleges and loves everything about Rutgers (and his parents love the cost) except how lousy we are in football. I think he's leaning towards going to Michigan State or Penn State.

You cannot compete in this conference being poorly managed when it comes to football and we have been for decades. We got lucky with Schiano but let's face it, in the grand scheme of things his moderate success was a mere blip on the radar and what he did build has now been burned to rubble. Ash looked good on paper but can the administration honestly say they did their due diligence when they hired this guy? I seem to remember the process being over very quickly and was kind of closed door as opposed to when Greg was hired (https://www.onthebanks.com/2008/11/20/the-longest-november).

Bottom line, a change needs to be made ASAP. If the administration chooses to kick the can down the road for the next 12-14 months people will move on, and possibly never come back. When it comes to sports, I'm a college football fan first and a Rutgers alum second and it would take a serious commitment by Rutgers to change this. So I am already taking road trips this fall in lieu of using my RU season tickets (just got back from Miami and going to South Bend in November). If a change is not made, next year I plan on using the money I'd put toward season tickets toward more road venues where people actually care about college football.

Don't be stupid Rutgers, you still have a chance to right this ship. You can make this a place where college football is a big deal. But the clock is ticking.

 

[Jersey Boys]

Well, you know, you should be doing that.

Excuse me?

 

[kcg88]

Sadly the hints were there at the beginning of Ash's tenure:

1 - The disaster of a decision to stay on at OSU for a meaningless bowl game
2 - The aloofness and blame others game that Ash excels at.
3 - 78-0 Michigan
4 - Eastern Michigan

Looking back now there have been SO many signs. I'll throw out some more:

Our very first drive of the Ash era against Washington, we faced a 4th and 1 at our own 24. The offense was milling around the field looking like they were about to go for it and I remember thinking, "holy crap, did we hire the coach with the biggest balls in the world?" Nope. We had to burn a timeout and punted. Would it have been TOO insane to go for it? Maybe, but considering the talent discrepancy those are the crazy things we would've needed to win that day. Even with the punt, Washington scored in three plays. Two and a half years later, we haven't stopped wasting timeouts.

Heck stay with the same game. Justin Goodwin starting over Robert Martin and Josh Hicks remains bizarre. Down 24-0, we went for it on 4th and 12 at the 29 yardline. On the VERY NEXT DRIVE, still 24-0, we kicked a FG on 4th and 7 from the 20 yardline. On our first drive of the second half, we punted on 4th and 11 from the Washington 37. There was no rhyme or reason to any of this.

Those are signs from game #1 and I don't think he's gotten any better at any of this.

 

[Ridge 22]

You have to go back to Flood's tailspin...that set the tone...we were promised something that we didnt get when he was canned. He has turned out worse than Elmer on the field and in recruiting. But I agree with you, I am sort of surprised how quickly people bailed this year and that the attendance numbers even surprise me. I think its a case of no hope. There is literally no playmakers on this team and its not like there are guys down the pipeline. Art may be good eventually but the defense is simply awful and this is an offense that cannot work with a freshmen qb. The team is a literal train wreck. You cannot follow up an embarrassment to Kansas but getting waxed by Buffalo.

Chris Ash must be fired. Next year will get really bad and it will look like year 2 of Eddie

It's the cumulative effect of it all. If it was just 3 years of Ash, people might be more forgiving. But we are also coming off the debacle of Flood's tenure before him. It feels like an eternity since we have been competitive, let alone relevant. And even before all that came Greg's decade long rebuild which never quite got there. It just seems like we are caught in an endless rebuild cycle. Fans don't see Ash as a guy who has exhibited any signs he can get it done here. Not in recruiting. Not on the field. Not in press conferences. Not behind the scenes. He just comes off like a big zero. At this point, people just can't take anymore. 2 more years of this before we can even START the NEXT rebuild - how depressing is that? All because our administration is too cheap to address the problem - the same administration that created this problem mind you. Fans are not dumb and have finally realized that their time, money, and emotional investment might be better used elsewhere.

 

[krup]

I think one thing that is easy to overlook when discussing ticket sales (and the expected losses) is how much better the TV viewing experience is for a Rutgers fan since we have joined the B1G. When I first got season tickets in 1992 many games were only on radio, now all of them are broadcast in HD.

I totally get why people who have good tailgates would keep going to a game just for that reason. As I have gotten older and my tailgate group has been scattered by the normal things that happen in life, the game itself has to make it worth the trip from PA for me. And, things like being able (watching on TV) to switch away from the 4th quarter of the Illinois game and catch the great ending of Okla-Texas really start making me question again why I even bother getting tickets.

Rutgers runs the risk that some of these people who think they are temporarily cutting back their season tickets decide they don't want to come back even if we start getting better on the field.

I think the only thread keeping me connected to getting season tickets is the priority points I have for longevity (but I will get fewer).

 

[Ridge 22]

Your last line says it all. With Shea, we were outmanned and our guys would get beat but it was because we just weren’t good. For the most part you can tell we were at least trying...now, we look listless, clueless and like we’re just going through to motions...all while being told it’s a rebuild, like we’re all f****** stupid or being gaslighted by the administration. I went through the Shea years and endured the s***show embarrassments that were the 2013 and 2015 seasons under Flood, along with watching everything Schiano built get washed away; I’m not doing this again with Ash.


Joe P.

Exactly. There are only some many times you can sit through the same thing with nothing to show for it. At some point, people just move on rather than pay to subject themselves to more pain.

 

[shields]

Don't remind me of Washington game, I was there. Have family out there and went to the game.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I have no problem with people that want to go down with the ship.

I have no problem with people looking for better things to do with there entertainment money and more importantly their time.

I do have a huge problem with either side calling the other out. Please stop proclaiming that you are a better fan either way. Many of us have been going through this before most were born.

Respect the decision of either viewpoint.

Threads like this are unnecessary.

Whitebus

I started this post...wasn’t anything but civil...and I never called out anyone else

All I said it was is simply obvious. That a LOT of loyal sons are really at their last straw right now specifically because the lack of inatutional commitment our school has into its athletic department, and here...Rutgers football ...and if the school doesn’t show it cares RIGHT now ...the consequences are gojng to be large