We have ice hockey "pushers" on Twitter.

[derleider]

The $100 million, or whatever the cost would be to start hockey would largely come from people donating specifically to a Rutgers hockey team. The athletic department isn't coming up with that on their own, so no they wouldn't be spending $100 million to make $2 million a year, and a hockey team could be profitable too so you have to add that to the BTN payout.

Those people dont exist. Thats the point. They arent close to existing.

To put it more bluntly. It took us 7 years to riase $1 billion for the WHOLE UNIVERSITY. ANd you think we can raise 10% of that for one sport that we dont even have right now in any reasonable amount of time.

ANd you think that we would be better off taking that money for hockey rather than trying to convince those people to spend it on sports we do have (the I will only donate to hockey guy is more or less a myth.)

Upstream - naive is a good word for it. Like the poeple who backed the RU PAC that never happened. Raising $100 million is tough at RUtgers. Its going to be tough to do it to build much needed improvements to popular sports like FB and BB.

I kind of wish they would get it off the ground though - so when a year from now theyve raised $30,000 or whatever, they can finally put the idea to rest. They seem to think there are just people with MILLIONS of dollars who are just dying to give it away to Rutgers but ONLY for Hockey, when in fact there really are only a couple dozen people who want to give millions of dollars to Rutgers for anything, and those willing to give to athletics specifically is probably in the literal handful range.

 

[Scarlet Pride]

I haven't seen a case made as to why hockey should be a priority. Can someone explain the actual reason Rutgers should add hockey and make such an investment?

 

[derleider]

I haven't seen a case made as to why hockey should be a priority. Can someone explain the actual reason Rutgers should add hockey and make such an investment?

Becuase a handful of people really like both hcokey and Rutgers, and I guess professional minor league hockey doesnt do it for them, so they want Rutgers to fund a minor league team too.

 

[RU-05]

Count me in with those who would love to see Hockey at RU.

 

[Jomamma69]

I haven't seen a case made as to why hockey should be a priority. Can someone explain the actual reason Rutgers should add hockey and make such an investment?

Besides the fact that I love hockey, I think we need to start diversifying a bit. Let's face it, football hasn't exactly worked out the way that any of us had hoped, and we may want to start prioritizing a different sport 5-10 years from now. I'm not saying we should abandon football, but let's start building the foundation for hockey now so that we have options in the future.

 

[CERU00]

Besides the fact that I love hockey, I think we need to start diversifying a bit. Let's face it, football hasn't exactly worked out the way that any of us had hoped, and we may want to start prioritizing a different sport 5-10 years from now. I'm not saying we should abandon football, but let's start building the foundation for hockey now so that we have options in the future.

What?? Diversifying? How many sports do people want us to suck at?? This entire thread is mind boggling.. That's saying a lot for this board.

 

[Jomamma69]

What?? Diversifying? How many sports do people want us to suck at?? This entire thread is mind boggling.. That's saying a lot for this board.

Ideally none, but I'm trying to be realistic. Hockey would be a welcome addition and an insurance policy.

 

[RU-05]

I haven't seen a case made as to why hockey should be a priority. Can someone explain the actual reason Rutgers should add hockey and make such an investment?

I'd say the case would be made when the money is raised.

Ideally none, but I'm trying to be realistic. Hockey would be a welcome addition and an insurance policy.

I don't think Hockey could ever replace football as a $$$ making sport. But it could be one that carries it's own budget.

 

[superfan01]

RU needs hockey. Would be in favor of cutting other sports to bring it in.
Let's get it done.

 

[derleider]

Why are people so confident that we wouldn't suck at hockey. NJ isn't some kind of hot bed of hockey talent.

 

[RU-05]

Why are people so confident that we wouldn't suck at hockey. NJ isn't some kind of hot bed of hockey talent.

I think as a state we produce the 6th most NCAA hockey players in the country. Hobey baker award winner last year was from NJ. There was a Jersey native on the US team at the last olympics.

And imo the hockey boom we have seen in state over the last 20 yrs is still in it's infancy, I expect much bigger growth going fwd.

 

[Upstream]

Why are people so confident that we wouldn't suck at hockey. NJ isn't some kind of hot bed of hockey talent.

It's not like basketball, where NJ has tons of talent, and Rutgers ..... errr .... never mind.

 

[superfan01]

The big ten hockey franchise is very valuable. The majority of games are nationally televised. I believe all schools made a profit in the conference on hockey. It would be an honor to play in it.

 

[Scarlet Pride]

Besides the fact that I love hockey, I think we need to start diversifying a bit. Let's face it, football hasn't exactly worked out the way that any of us had hoped, and we may want to start prioritizing a different sport 5-10 years from now. I'm not saying we should abandon football, but let's start building the foundation for hockey now so that we have options in the future.

What does this mean? Diversifying? So are you saying that investing in an entirely new sport is a better investment and we can expect a better return of investment (in terms of athletic success) than the 22 other sports we already have?

I'd say the case would be made when the money is raised.

I don't think Hockey could ever replace football as a $$$ making sport. But it could be one that carries it's own budget.

Ok this one has me confused - are you're saying Rutgers shouldn't make it a priority but rather leave it to the interested parties to raise the money to make it possible and thus take away the financial burden on Rutgers?

Or are you saying that the mere fact that the money can be raised (a massive assumption) is in fact the reason we should have a team?

And further you're saying it's a revenue sport and the ROI is substantial enough to do it? While I haven't seen anything to demonstrate this is true, this is at least something other than "I like hockey".

Does this "hockey at Rutgers" movement not have a document that outlines why Rutgers should do this? This is an honest question.

 

[Jim_from_RU]

RU needs hockey. Would be in favor of cutting other sports to bring it in.
Let's get it done.

Don't agree. But to each his own.

 

[RM60]

Hockey should have ZERO to do with football. If it does = no hockey. Simple.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

I would say invest in only the following sports and forget about the rest until we can gain enough revenue in our revenue generating sports: FB, Basketball, Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer.

Hockey is a good long term investment that we'll be kicking ourselves for not making 20yrs from now. But RU is always more interested in short term gains than long term so I don't see this occurring.

We already should be leveraging our guaranteed future Big ten revenues to take out loans to build the $100mill facilities for all sports needed just to get close to Big Ten quality facilities. Rutgers' credit is also very good so it should be a non-issue to get the desired loan amount to break ground on these projects this year. But we don't... Instead we rely on a handful of fickle donors. It's just ridiculous!

College athletics is a business now. ACT LIKE IT!

Forever penny wise and pound foolish... :flush:

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Sheesh...

Not to add fuel to the fire, but collectively, we represent a huge base of sports fans, and there's no reason why Rutgers couldn't have both football and ice hockey. If everyone who was interested just set aside 25-50% of their planned B1G Build donation for ice hockey, we would be noticed in almost no time. Sorry to disagree with the other posters, but I think ice hockey could be feasible in 5 years if we act now.

That is what most people are afraid of. It is a classic shooting yourself in the foot move.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

But we don't... Instead we rely on a handful of fickle donors. It's just ridiculous!

College athletics is a business now. ACT LIKE IT!

Forever penny wise and pound foolish... :flush:

Relying on Donors is how EVERY SINGLE big time Power 5 school does it in the Big Ten, SEC, PAC-12, Big12, etc.

 

[srru86]

I don't think Hockey could ever replace football as a $$$ making sport. But it could be one that carries it's own budget.

You including the women's squad in your calculus? Because that is the only way this happens.
How many NHL teams would there be if each one was responsible to also fund and support a women's squad?

 

[Scarlet Pride]

So the main argument is that it will be a positive revenue stream for the university? Can someone provide actual numbers of net revenue earned by the biggest hockey programs in the country?

 

[robcac26]

Those people dont exist. Thats the point. They arent close to existing.

To put it more bluntly. It took us 7 years to riase $1 billion for the WHOLE UNIVERSITY. ANd you think we can raise 10% of that for one sport that we dont even have right now in any reasonable amount of time.

ANd you think that we would be better off taking that money for hockey rather than trying to convince those people to spend it on sports we do have (the I will only donate to hockey guy is more or less a myth.)

Upstream - naive is a good word for it. Like the poeple who backed the RU PAC that never happened. Raising $100 million is tough at RUtgers. Its going to be tough to do it to build much needed improvements to popular sports like FB and BB.

I kind of wish they would get it off the ground though - so when a year from now theyve raised $30,000 or whatever, they can finally put the idea to rest. They seem to think there are just people with MILLIONS of dollars who are just dying to give it away to Rutgers but ONLY for Hockey, when in fact there really are only a couple dozen people who want to give millions of dollars to Rutgers for anything, and those willing to give to athletics specifically is probably in the literal handful range.

How can you possibly know with such certainty that those people don't exist? I'm sure people said the same thing at Penn State a few years ago too. The hockey community does have some wealthy people.

Raising money for a hockey team is different than raising money for the university. You would get donations for the hockey team from people who aren't alumni but want there to be a local NCAA hockey team, and I can tell you this for sure because I work at a local hockey rink and deal with hockey people every day. These people otherwise wouldn't be donating to Rutgers because they are more interested in hockey than they are interested in Rutgers. The hockey community is very passionate about its sport.

Why are people so confident that we wouldn't suck at hockey. NJ isn't some kind of hot bed of hockey talent.

It's not as much of a hotbed as Massachusetts and Minnesota, but it is far from a dead zone and it has been steadily on the rise. I think you'd be surprised how much talent there is in this area that goes on to play NCAA or Tier 1 junior hockey.

 

[Upstream]

How can you possibly know with such certainty that those people don't exist? I'm sure people said the same thing at Penn State a few years ago too. The hockey community does have some wealthy people.

You don't need "wealthy" people. You need "stinking rich" people. And if those people exist and are willing to provide $100 MM to fund hockey at Rutgers, you don't need a public, grass roots campaign. You just need them to privately agree to meet with Rutgers' officials and put together a funding plan.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

Relying on Donors is how EVERY SINGLE big time Power 5 school does it in the Big Ten, SEC, PAC-12, Big12, etc.

So what we aren't like every other power 5 school with deep pockets of donors. So we need to borrow to invest in our growth. With growth and success the donors will come. Right now we're dead in the water; endlessly waiting for nonexistant donors with nonexistant cash... We're willfully stunting our own growth and have no one to blame but ourselves.

 

[RM60]

Actually you need them to know and understand that there are quite a few people who are passionate about hockey and would buy season tickets and support the program IF ITS BUILT TO SUCCEED. Such people do exist, in good numbers, here in NJ.

 

[Jomamma69]

After speaking with some like minded alumni, I'm going to hold back on RU planned donations for a few months to see if momentum builds for a hockey designated fund. I really think this can happen, and somebody needs to take the first step.

 

[Upstream]

After speaking with some like minded alumni, I'm going to hold back on RU planned donations for a few months to see if momentum builds for a hockey designated fund. I really think this can happen, and somebody needs to take the first step.

So after you wait a few months, and let's say Rutgers doesn't establish a hockey fund, what do you do? Do you donate to Rutgers anyway, or do you continue to withhold your donation?

 

[e5fdny]

So after you wait a few months, and let's say Rutgers doesn't establish a hockey fund, what do you do? Do you donate to Rutgers anyway, or do you continue to withhold your donation?

You are one of my favorite (IMO one of the most knowledgeable to boot) posters and one of the few I'd like to meet in person but I have to say I love how this whole hockey thing annoys you.

I find it amusing. LOL

 

[Upstream]

You are one of my favorite (IMO one of the most knowledgeable to boot) posters and one of the few I'd like to meet in person but I have to say I love how this whole hockey thing annoys you.

I find it amusing. LOL

E5, thanks for the kind words. You're one of the people on this board I'd want to meet too (and not out of morbid curiosity).

I'm not really annoyed by people wanting hockey. I'd actually enjoy it if Rutgers had an NCAA hockey team. But in the current financial environment, I can't understand people seriously pushing for this at the grassroots level with any expectations that this route could be successful.

 

[RU-05]

Ok this one has me confused - are you're saying Rutgers shouldn't make it a priority but rather leave it to the interested parties to raise the money to make it possible and thus take away the financial burden on Rutgers?

Or are you saying that the mere fact that the money can be raised (a massive assumption) is in fact the reason we should have a team?

And further you're saying it's a revenue sport and the ROI is substantial enough to do it? While I haven't seen anything to demonstrate this is true, this is at least something other than "I like hockey".

Does this "hockey at Rutgers" movement not have a document that outlines why Rutgers should do this? This is an honest question.

1)Yeah If I'm Rutgers I do not prioritize it. I let the 2 guys(the asst coach and the general) do the leg work, and if they can make it look feasible, ie get some hard commitments on cash, then I take it seriously.


2)Not sure on Women's, my guess is a probably not. But the initial cost is pretty much included right? If you're building an arena(or maybe you just use the Rock? which simplifies the process in a big way) then it can be used by both. It's the operating costs that are at question. FHow much would a coaching staff cost? And How much is travel for most B1G women's squads? Though I figure womens hockey would be significantly less on travel because many B1G schools don't have it. Many games could be scheduled amongst North east squads.

 

[Jomamma69]

So after you wait a few months, and let's say Rutgers doesn't establish a hockey fund, what do you do? Do you donate to Rutgers anyway, or do you continue to withhold your donation?

Fair question...the best answer I have is that it would depend on the circumstances at the time. If I see momentum building, I would probably continue to defer my donation in hopes of having an even larger impact on hockey. If I feel that it's a complete lost cause, I would donate. This strategy allows me to audible (no pun intended). If the football team continues to suck, my money would still go to Rutgers, but I'm not pouring my funds into football.

 

[SanFranRutgers]

Why are people so confident that we wouldn't suck at hockey. NJ isn't some kind of hot bed of hockey talent.

We're a hotbed of lacrosse and soccer talent, and we suck at those sports. Maybe the opposite outcome is in effect, here.

 

[Scarlet Pride]

We're a hotbed of lacrosse and soccer talent, and we suck at those sports. Maybe the opposite outcome is in effect, here.

Or maybe we should be putting money into those programs instead of investing in a new costly one.

 

[SanFranRutgers]

Or maybe we should be putting money into those programs instead of investing in a new costly one.

One is not mutually exclusive of the other. If you don't want to give money to Ice Hockey or Crew or Swimming, then don't.

Ice Hockey won't "go Varsity" at Rutgers without an on-campus ice arena. That won't happen without a major capital gift. And a major capital gift to Rutgers is always a good thing.

 

[derleider]

I would say invest in only the following sports and forget about the rest until we can gain enough revenue in our revenue generating sports: FB, Basketball, Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer.

Hockey is a good long term investment that we'll be kicking ourselves for not making 20yrs from now. But RU is always more interested in short term gains than long term so I don't see this occurring.

We already should be leveraging our guaranteed future Big ten revenues to take out loans to build the $100mill facilities for all sports needed just to get close to Big Ten quality facilities. Rutgers' credit is also very good so it should be a non-issue to get the desired loan amount to break ground on these projects this year. But we don't... Instead we rely on a handful of fickle donors. It's just ridiculous!

College athletics is a business now. ACT LIKE IT!

Forever penny wise and pound foolish... :flush:

Whats the actually investment. You do realize that good investments lead to payouts. What do we actually get for the money? You cant seriously think that it would be better to spend htat money on hockey than BB or FB. Then probably wrestling (similar crowds, less expensive), WBB (brings in a different demographic than mens sports), then maybe you get to hockey.

I mean seriously - if we had $100 million to spend on sports - spending it all on FB and BB would be MUCH more of a wise investment than hockey - which at best is a break even sport.

I mean spend $200 million (including interest on these bonds) so you can eventually break even (if you are good) is not what I would call a value proposition.