In the midst of a three decade long post season BB bust, I can think back fondly on my mid 70s RU experience. Somehow we managed to field respectable teams in FB, Men's and Women's BB, Lacrosse, Soccer, Baseball, etc. without the greatest facilities, although the RAC did appear. Basketball was always solid and I remember games at the Garden where RU could regularly bring up 5-10K noisy fans in big games against St. Johns. Just prior to the Big East and A10 I think we always played an informal round robin against the "city" schools including St. Johns, Fordham, Manhattan, Columbia, Seton Hall and Princeton. It was fun and we usually won. Funny that though the late 60s and 70s, Rutgers was a big player at MSG, and yet in our lost Big East years we were never a factor during any single season. Impossible but true. You can't make this crap up!
The 70's; A golden age for RU?
- Thread starter rutgersnyc
- Start date
The 70s were certainly the apex for RU men's basketball but then the formation of new conferences in the northeast led to the derailment of RU's ascendancy. It's been discussed here countless times, but Gruninger's decision to keep RU out of the newly formed BE was the worst decision ever made in the University's athletic history. Staying out of a conference that would include all of your major basketball rivals except one (Princeton) was hard to believe. It cost RU millions of $$$ during the decade of the 80s, made it difficult to recruit, kept RU off of TV most of the time, and led to falling attendance at the RAC. Instead of home games against SU, St. John's, Villanova, UConn, G-town, BC, Pitt, etc. we were treated to a schedule featuring Duquesne, GW, URI, UMass (which was woeful before Calipari), and St. Bonnie's. The only attractions were WVU and Temple (later in the 80s), and, on occasion, St. Joe's and TTFP.
Facilities didn't matter quite so much back then. Most schools were still playing in gyms, especially in this part of the country, and the ones who weren't played at off-campus sites, like PC, Duquesne, St. John's (sometimes). The arms race hadn't really begun yet. That would be more a product of the 80s.
RU seemed to be on the road back after BE membership finally came in the latter half of the 90s, especially when Bannon had us on track to the big Dance. But then the nude three-throw shooting contest (IIRC) happened and what he had been building fell apart. But during those few years, the RAC had more sellouts than ever before or since.
Facilities didn't matter quite so much back then. Most schools were still playing in gyms, especially in this part of the country, and the ones who weren't played at off-campus sites, like PC, Duquesne, St. John's (sometimes). The arms race hadn't really begun yet. That would be more a product of the 80s.
RU seemed to be on the road back after BE membership finally came in the latter half of the 90s, especially when Bannon had us on track to the big Dance. But then the nude three-throw shooting contest (IIRC) happened and what he had been building fell apart. But during those few years, the RAC had more sellouts than ever before or since.
Yep. Some great times back in the day taking the train in to the Garden to see Phil Sellers go at it with St. John's Beaver Smith or Manhattan's Henry Seawright. Good times.
Back then I don't know which would have been considered more improbable: Rutgers turning into a respectable football program nationally or RU basketball being so bad for so long.
The 70s was a great era in Rutgers hoops
Had the NCAA been 64!teams back then...it would have made the NCAAa 6 years in a row (and 8 out of 10 into the the Roy Hinson era)
Having said that..a Atlantic 10 team used to average 7000 per game
And a ,500 big east team...in billet and hodgeson senior year averages 7500 per game
Give this region a NCAA program capable of making the NCAA 2 out of 4 years in the big ten, we would need a new arena
Had the NCAA been 64!teams back then...it would have made the NCAAa 6 years in a row (and 8 out of 10 into the the Roy Hinson era)
Having said that..a Atlantic 10 team used to average 7000 per game
And a ,500 big east team...in billet and hodgeson senior year averages 7500 per game
Give this region a NCAA program capable of making the NCAA 2 out of 4 years in the big ten, we would need a new arena
Yes - the reason is easy to see.
In the 1970s we were already a huge public school. And we were playing mostly against smaller private schools. In BB, but even in FB. We had a bigger potential fan base, and probably a larger budget.
Then we decided to upgrade to D1A, but didnt put the money into it. That really sank us in FB. But even in BB, we never put the money into to be above A10 status, and thats a losing proposition if you arent an A10 school.
Technically not an "upgrade" as I-A and I-AA didn't exist before the late 1970s. What we did was cast our lot with the former despite our long history of playing schools that chose the latter.
And it wasn't just Gruninger's decision about the Big East. The man couldn't hire a coach without going through some committee. And who could have predicted that being on the same side as Penn State, Pittsburgh, Villanova and West Virginia instead of with Boston College and Syracuse would be the wrong side a few years later? The Big East poaching the Eastern 8 a few years later, in the short run, was brilliant. In the long run, it ensured Eastern football would not grow the way it should have and the schools that didn't put basketball over the dream of an all-sports conference would, in hindsight, look foolish for what at the time was not an invalid decision.
And remember, it wasn't just joining the Big East that we didn't do. We didn't even participate in the meetings and see what the possibilities were. We just were blindly going for all sports or nothing (and tying ourselves to Penn State as if we had been playing them for decades) instead of taking the "if you can't get cream, settle for milk" idea represented by the Big East.
Either way, though, the 70s were something. Too bad I was just discovering Rutgers sports around 1975 and had no idea it wasn't going to get any better for, well, so far forever.
And it wasn't just Gruninger's decision about the Big East. The man couldn't hire a coach without going through some committee. And who could have predicted that being on the same side as Penn State, Pittsburgh, Villanova and West Virginia instead of with Boston College and Syracuse would be the wrong side a few years later? The Big East poaching the Eastern 8 a few years later, in the short run, was brilliant. In the long run, it ensured Eastern football would not grow the way it should have and the schools that didn't put basketball over the dream of an all-sports conference would, in hindsight, look foolish for what at the time was not an invalid decision.
And remember, it wasn't just joining the Big East that we didn't do. We didn't even participate in the meetings and see what the possibilities were. We just were blindly going for all sports or nothing (and tying ourselves to Penn State as if we had been playing them for decades) instead of taking the "if you can't get cream, settle for milk" idea represented by the Big East.
Either way, though, the 70s were something. Too bad I was just discovering Rutgers sports around 1975 and had no idea it wasn't going to get any better for, well, so far forever.
It all started in the late 60's for MBB. We had the best backcourt on the country with Bobby L. and Jimmy V. The BARN was incredible for every home game. RU played in MSG often (the old garden) and always brought tons of fans. I'll never forget our first NIT ever. I still have the programs from every game. It was nuts and RU was truly a BASKETBALL SCHOOL then. It's very sad what's happened to the program since then. There were such high hopes and expectations.
