We need more fans to begin supporting our team. I was shocked last night to see that not many of our Court Club members will be at MSG for the Fordham game. This team is 10-1 so what are fans waiting for? We need more fans at every game. Why are many staying away for the Seton Hall game as well? We need many more at all of our BIG home games as well plus our game vs. Wisconsin at MSG. What is the excuse? It seems as if most who criticize our team are the ones usually not attending the games. I am not trying to annoy people but as Coach said last night our players respond better when more of our fans attend the games and cheer for our team. I know the holidays are almost here but it would be nice if some would go to MSG and the PRU Center to support the team. How difficult is it to take the train to both of these games? Let's get behind this team. Go RU.
Many of our fans need to step it up.
- Thread starter knights1212
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I can't go Sunday vs Fordham but I already have tickets to the Seton Hall game.
I am stoked for that game as should all RU fans in NJ.
I am stoked for that game as should all RU fans in NJ.
FWIW, I've been "stepping it up" for 30 years now! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Knights1212, go to your initial post in this thread. Above it you should see a wrench next to unwatch thread and post new thread. Click on the wrench and you will see the option to edit the title.
It's going to take some time for this fan base to recover and arrive from the dead. This program was literally one of the worst programs in all of D1 not that long ago.
The good news is when it does happen over the next 2 years it's gonna be fun.
The good news is when it does happen over the next 2 years it's gonna be fun.
I'm sure everyone is happy we are 10-1. But to answer the question "what is everyone waiting for", probably a win over a team from a respectable conference that will finish over .500....
Rutgers hasn't been good in a long time. 10-1 has gotten people back to watching on tv (which is hit or miss thanks to btn plus). Need something more tangible to commit financial resources.
FYI I've already been to the RAC this season but just speaking in generalities above.
I think it will also take some national media coverage. At 10-1 I haven't even heard a sarcastic comment from our friends at ESPN. In fact there was a show a week ago about coaches (top10) having the biggest impact in first year at school. Pikel not even on the list or mentioned. Of course it was guys at schools like SMU and Dixon.
I don't care about the soft schedule. RU winning games should be some breaking news but then again since they have nothing bad they can say I guess we're off the radar.
I don't care about the soft schedule. RU winning games should be some breaking news but then again since they have nothing bad they can say I guess we're off the radar.
$$. Money for train ride to NY/tickets/food
$$ Money for train ride to Newark/tickets/food
Add in the Wisconsin travesty game at The Garden also.
$$ Money for train ride to Newark/tickets/food
Add in the Wisconsin travesty game at The Garden also.
Plenty of excuses
1. some have kids playing a sport
2. some are fans of both RU and a professional football team
3. some are on a $ budget
4. season ticket holders have 15 home games PLUS WISC and SHU and choose this as 1 to miss
5. some running low on MBUs
6. some just don't love Rutgers basketball enough to make the ride (some may work in NYC and dont want to make trip again)
7. some don't live in the area
I'll bet most on the board are either going or 1-5 or 7.
1. some have kids playing a sport
2. some are fans of both RU and a professional football team
3. some are on a $ budget
4. season ticket holders have 15 home games PLUS WISC and SHU and choose this as 1 to miss
5. some running low on MBUs
6. some just don't love Rutgers basketball enough to make the ride (some may work in NYC and dont want to make trip again)
7. some don't live in the area
I'll bet most on the board are either going or 1-5 or 7.
In with 9 people for fordham and 4 for SHU. If we keep winning I'm booking a flight to chicago in February.
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Nobody's mentioned Christmas and Chanukah yet...
Season tickets have become very expensive and the resale market if you can't make a game is terrible.
Those in the Court Club already have paid $100 for that.
Train fair to NYC is now $25-$30 dollars. Plus game ticket, food, else...
Fans already have to anti up donations up for football and BB. Also the thinking amongst those with football tickets is that they'd rather put any other sports monies towards getting the priority points for football tailgating/convenience.
If the administration wants to help they should sell the 300 level as season tickets-not hold those tickets back.
Attendance will increase in January with the B1G-and because this team is fun to watch.
Attendance will certainly increase as the team improves over the coming years.
Season tickets have become very expensive and the resale market if you can't make a game is terrible.
Those in the Court Club already have paid $100 for that.
Train fair to NYC is now $25-$30 dollars. Plus game ticket, food, else...
Fans already have to anti up donations up for football and BB. Also the thinking amongst those with football tickets is that they'd rather put any other sports monies towards getting the priority points for football tailgating/convenience.
If the administration wants to help they should sell the 300 level as season tickets-not hold those tickets back.
Attendance will increase in January with the B1G-and because this team is fun to watch.
Attendance will certainly increase as the team improves over the coming years.
Rutgers Athletics department needs to step it up, too. Anyone who has been a season ticket & parking tag buyer for any length of time (maybe 5 plus seasons) should get complimentary tickets for meaningful games to introduce friends & family to Rutgers basketball & the RAC. Long-time season ticket buyers are the program's best ambassadors -- actually patrons of the program. Buying tickets and contributing when you often literally could not give away tickets to college basketball fans. Not giving the long-time buyers complimentary tickets, with so many seats going empty every game, is downright stingy and bad business.
Kept my season tickets even though I am in the CLE for year 2. My sister makes many home games...
Remember how good it was when our fans outnumbered Temple fans in that football game in Philly?
Our fans can do the same thing or come close to it next Friday at the Pru Center.
Still a lot of tickets available vis Ticketmaster, Stubhub, Seatgeek, etc.
Get your Christmas shopping done this weekend, go support RU hoops at local venues.
Our fans can do the same thing or come close to it next Friday at the Pru Center.
Still a lot of tickets available vis Ticketmaster, Stubhub, Seatgeek, etc.
Get your Christmas shopping done this weekend, go support RU hoops at local venues.
yeah, get that RTR but they aren't even shelling out $6-$12 and $10 parking for the RAC. ... where you can enjoy the game and come away positive. (but I am sure they are buying daily $4 coffees)
Thanks Mad for the tip. I appreciate the responses which many I think had real reasons why some cannot get to games. Hopefully though things will start clicking soon so that more people can get to the games. It would be nice if we can get a lot of RU fans at the Prudential Center when we play SHU. I realize it is easier for me as I am retired and since my wife passed away two and a half years ago I go to as many athletic events that I can get to so I can keep busy and take my mind off things. I have been to almost every home basketball game since the RAC opened in 1977. In 1975-76 when we reached 31-0 I got to 13 games. I have just always loved college basketball. I also go to as many Linden games as I can. Last year I went to 14 of their games. This afternoon I will attend their first game at 5:45 against Westfield at Union H.S. I think Elizabeth is in the opener and Roselle Catholic is in the third game. I will stay to watch Reid play for R.C.
Oh please stop. My dad has been a season ticket holder from Day 1 at THE RAC and would smack me if I wrote something like this.
The reality is that the fan base is less than 3000 season ticket holders and maybe 200 students.A major state university locate in NJ with over 8 million people really has no excuse for not filling a 8000 seat RAC other than the fact that there is very little interest in college basketball.This problem has been going on for decades without resolution because the athletic department lost interest and focused entirely on football.
Hear you Knights 1212 but the season ticket holders are already engaged. I am going to MSG with 6 people and also going to the Wisconsin game in January with 6 people. The trick is to engage the young and mid age alumni that are curious about our 10-1 start and feel positive about Rutgers around the water cooler or at coffee. For years the team has been terrible with no winning season since 2005-2006 season and have to fend off embarrassing things at Rutgers and non competitive basketball. It takes a little time to turn on those people and this staff will eventually get it done.,They might be a few more people there Sunday but I expect and hope the crowds will come back for the Big 10 home schedule at the RAC , where it will make a difference. The crowd for FDU earlier in the week for a 9-1 team was disappointing !
Not so sure whether you are saying there isn't enough interest in college basketball to fll the RAC-if so that's not tRUe. The RAC was pretty damn full in the late 70s,early 80s and early 90s.
Unless perhaps you say under Pernetti, I wouldn't say there was "deliberate neglect" of the basketball program as there was poor leadership at the top of the athletic department-and some bad luck.
1) I bELieve R problems started in the late 70s when our AD Fred Gruninger decided the best course for Rutgers Athletics was to follow Penn State wherever to what league so that an all sports conference with Penn State, RU, Syracuse, BC, Pitt and a few others. The problem was there was infighting between Penn State and Syracuse, amongst else.
Syracuse, Pitt, Villanova and Seton Hall (after RU rejected 2-3 Big East invites)
left to form the Big East. Within a few years ESPN came on the scene and exploded. Rutgers found itself in two weaker conferences the Eastern 8 and Atlantic 10-and Bob Wenzel had trouble recruiting against the Big East that offered much exposure (what recruits want more than anything Wenzel said in a Court Club executive meeting to us)
via the ESPN Big East TV package. By the time Rutgers was admitted into the Big East 10+ years later Rutgers basketball had been bypassed by pretty much everyone in the Big East including Seton Hall.
2) For the next 20 years the Rutgers athletic administration threw the hoops program into the depths of Division 1 basketball by poor coaching choices.
First there was Kevin Bannon (poorly researched) who was abusive with such things as naked free throw shooting classes who was fired days after (just about everyone but me failed to followed the sequence as they were at work and I was at home) two of our transfers Josh Sankes (Holy Cross) and Charles Brown (LIU-led the NCAA in scoring average that year) had great 1st round NCAA games. The CBS announcers
discussed Sankes horrendous treatment by Bannon et al in John Feinstein's book about the Patriot League. This included 8 pages of dirt on RU. Supposedly Sankes was so nervous from Bannon's treatment he vomited at his first practice at Holy Cross. About that same day I myself brought up the book to an embarrassed Elliott Sachs (Microphone) and Todd Billet (book dicussed Billet and Sankes'? love for Monmouth Park race track) representing the team as Bannon was a no-show at the Court Club meeting.
3) Next up was the Gary Waters a great guy and impeccable dresser. However Gary was from the Midwest and supposedly refused to hire needed assistants. Waters was having some success and he had repaired the team's mental state from Bannon. The problem was our AD then Bob Mulcahy? had a hard on for ex Seton Hall Assistant and son of the great Fred Hill, Sr.) Fred Hill Jr. Waters was forced out in what resembled a coup. Hill Jr was overall a terrible recruiter and especially bad coach (also with a bad player wrap). Hill was also forced out in another coup like move for "prodigy" Mike Rice. I believe a bunch of players transferred and Rutgers already had a bad rep for the treatment of it's players-and had already affected recruiting.
4) Rice, like Bannon (in the later case I know there were incidents at Rider pre RU) was a
hotshot young coach who also had anger and player treatment issues. Then another stupid move was made by the hiring of former Providence star and NBA player-the malcontent Eric Murdock who had already snubbed RU for Providence out of Bridgewater West. Eric was for Eric (his brother told me his goal was head coach at Providence), didn't like the way Rice treated his players/ran practices-and spliced together a tape of "abuse" by Rice. Murdock gets fired/pushed out by RU, releases the tape to HBO? and the tape goes national. Rutgers gets mocked nationally with a segment on Jay Leno and skit on SNL.
Christie thinks all of this makes him look bad so he shifts the blame to the "untouchable" Tim Pernetti (who arguably abused the hoops program in other manners) who disciplined Rice but not enough for Chrstie. A national scandal erupts and Rutgers basketball pretty much hits rock bottom. No top recruits-or coaches are interested in Rutgers hoops.
5) Rutgers then turned and took "a chance" on our own Eddie Jordan who had been part of perhaps the top coaching staff at Rutgers- Wenzel's 89-90 staff of himself/Jordan/ Jeff van Gundy However perhaps in part due to all of the above and arguably not so good coaching
Jordan was unfortunately a disaster.
In sum the basketball program has suffered from 30+ years of poor leadership and decision making. It has cost RU many players, potential recruits, potential coaches, fans and LOTS of revenue (including payouts of coaching salaries). Under Barchi things seemingly R turning around. The facilities R improving and seemingly we've stuck gold with our currently coaching staff.
Fans like winners and like to see a return on their money. Once the winning starts (and arguably is already has) and the recruiting improves-I believe we will hear positive news sooner than later- the fans will be back en masse (maybe not sellouts) and the RAC will rock again!
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Took my son to the Niagara game and will be at SHU with my brother.
The MSG tickets are absurdly priced.
The MSG tickets are absurdly priced.
A
anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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In for fordham and seton hall. Admittedly prior to this season i didnt live and die by the team but this season has me extremely interested, I look forward to the games every week. I'm going to every game at the RAC, MSG and pru for the rest of the year except for Iowa and Maryland due to prior obligations. And ive been to zero games prior to this season since I graduated in 2013. I expect the RAC to be jam packed for all of our saturday home games
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