Letter to Editor-Rutgers Should Shut Down Football Program

[DoubleKnight]

Well the guy isn't wrong when he said the money could be redirected toward education - that's the whole point of the university.
I think anyone with an ounce of sense in their brain realizes big -time football at a university is a conflict of interest. But with that said I like football and we should try to win at almost al costs . If 60-70 kids don't really belong academically here and get a shoddy education so be it .

Plum,

With all due respect your logic is flawed. At the true big time football schools, football is revenue producing not losing. In that situation, there is no redirection of funds away from education to football. In fact, football actually creates additional revenue -- in the form of increased alumni giving -- for the university. At Rutgers, for now, you're theoretically correct that amounts we spend on football could be redirected toward education since the University subsidizes the sports program. But even at Rutgers it's not clear how much alumni giving to the University would decline if we did not have a football team.

 

[Plum Street]

Yeah I know. But my point is that big-time athletics at a college is questionable to say the least for various reasons . With that said I love having a big-time program and I want to win .

 

[Knight Shift]

The comments are stupider than the original letter:

Marlboro Mann ·
Morganville, New Jersey
Good letter, but it will never happen. Big time sports and the related prestige associated with it will always take precedent over education. Thank goodness for grade inflation or else half the athletic teams would never graduate.

 

[Knight Shift]

But there are good comments too:
Patrick Thorpe
The oft-quoted $36M figure is for all sports. Football is basically revenue neutral... and without it Rutgers would not be in the Big Ten which yeilds all kinds of academic and research dollars benefits that makes even that $36M look small. Furthermore, when the Big Ten revenues start rolling in around 2020, the entire athletic department will be near revenue neutral, which cannot be said for any non-football school with any level of athletics.

So, as usual, someone is working hard to give the taxpayer somehting to complain about that isn't a real problem at all. And certainly doesn't affect his tax dollars in any way, shape or form. Better focus your outrage elsewhere. Rutgers and Rutgers football is not the problem. Hint: start looking at the politicians and their allies who have tried multiple times to disband the Rutgers Board of Trustees so they could take over all of Rutgers budget. There you will find the same people that destroyed UMDNJ and a lot more.
Like · Reply ·

1 · 3 hrs · Edited


Christopher Warner ·
Hawthorne, New Jersey
This is the dumbest, most mis-informed statement I have ever read. The Football Program at Rutgers is the ONLY program at the University to turn a profit. Without football, the athletic deficit would only Increase. If you don't like it, move to a state that doesn't have Division 1 football. Good luck.
Like · Reply · 3 hrs

Sebastian Kowalik ·
Software Engineer at Avanade
Dear John Amoss from Ocean Township,

For a nominal fee, I can educate you on the ecomonics of university sports and the academic benefits of Rutgers joining the Big Ten.
Like · Reply · 3 hrs


Linda Widdows Fernberg ·
Rutgers University
After one year in the B1G applications to Rutgers rose something like 23%. That is a direct result of bringing Rutgers to the MidWest. Go to Ohio State and observe the love people have for their school and their state. All through football. Rutgers doesn't have this yet, but we will as we improve on the gridiron. And Rutgers already is a top team in Academic Scholars, not only in the B1G, but in the nation. RU!
Like · Reply · 2 hrs

 

[RUsSKii]

The comments are stupider than the original letter:

Marlboro Mann ·
Morganville, New Jersey
Good letter, but it will never happen. Big time sports and the related prestige associated with it will always take precedent over education. Thank goodness for grade inflation or else half the athletic teams would never graduate.

Oh look, misinformed idiots living in my former zip code. I shudder to think how prevalent false information like this is in New Jersey. And it's "precedence".