Shades Of Red
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Shades Of Red
Title: Shades Of Red
Word Count: 1100
Summary:
I often write about colleges and universities, focusing on Rutgers University, my alma mater. With two degrees from Rutgers and strong professional ties with its administrators, I have a unique perspective on the institution.
Keywords:
education, politics, college football, college ranking, Rutgers University, Rutgers 1000, Cornhusker
Article Body:
Every now and then, I find myself exploring the landscape of colleges and universities through the lens of Rutgers University, my alma mater. Having earned two degrees from Rutgers and built strong professional connections with its administration, I hold deep knowledge and affection for the school.
According to the latest U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges, Rutgers' flagship campus in New Brunswick ranks 20th among publicly-supported research universities. This is noteworthy, as Rutgers outperforms several universities with larger endowments and longer histories as public institutions. Some alumni, however, feel that Rutgers deserves a status closer to a private Ivy League institution rather than merely a "Public Ivy" like the University of Virginia or UC-Berkeley.
When I started at Rutgers in the fall of 1978, the football schedule included eminent teams like Penn State, as well as Colgate, Yale, Princeton, William and Mary, and others in the NCAA's Championship Subdivision. By my senior year, Rutgers faced teams like Boston College, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse. That year was the only season during my college days when we lost more games than we won. I attended the last Rutgers-Princeton game at home, and even now, I meet alumni who recall that game fondly and miss the rivalry.
These interactions make me ponder: who truly owns college football programs?"the students or the alumni? Moreover, does playing Ivy League schools equate to shared prestige? Despite shifting football rivalries to teams like Louisville and West Virginia, Rutgers' academic reputation remains unscathed.
Rutgers has its share of athletic boosters, much like other large state universities, but it’s uncommon to see a collective movement against them. Enter Professor William Dowling and the Rutgers 1000. This group campaigned for a decade, advocating for Rutgers to drop scholarship football and instead invest in top-performing academic candidates, akin to Ivy League standards.
The persistence of Rutgers 1000, predominantly through faculty support and alumni memories, was bolstered by Internet coverage. Professor Dowling documented this journey in his book, Confessions of a Spoilsport, detailing Rutgers' entry into major college football and the rise and fall of Rutgers 1000.
As an alumnus and former board member of the business school's alumni association, I'm familiar with the Rutgers 1000’s arguments. They emphasized that football is unconnected to a university's intellectual environment, citing the sport's financial burdens and the obsession with winning that can lead to negative consequences.
However, the Rutgers 1000 damaged their stance by suggesting that major college football would degrade the university academically, equating Rutgers with "football schools" of lesser academic standing, like the University of Nebraska. Notably, they created the Hubie Cornpone Award using a caricature of Nebraska’s mascot to mock sportswriters they believed would lower Rutgers to Nebraska’s alleged level.
Intrigued, I explored non-football comparisons between Rutgers and Nebraska. Both share school colors?"red and white?"and vibrant game-day traditions. Yet, Rutgers claims "scarlet," while Nebraska goes by "Big Red."
Research showed:
- Endowment: Nebraska $1.2 billion vs. Rutgers $550 million
- In-state tuition: Nebraska $5,867 vs. Rutgers $9,958
- Out-of-State students: Nebraska 14% vs. Rutgers 7%
- R&D Expenditures: Nebraska $333 million vs. Rutgers $310 million
- National Merit Scholars (2006): Nebraska 60 vs. Rutgers less than 30
- Yield rate: Nebraska 65% vs. Rutgers 33%
- Undergraduate students: Nebraska 17,000 vs. Rutgers 24,000
Despite Nebraska’s smaller population, they've achieved notable academic and financial milestones, contrasting with New Jersey's larger tax and corporate base.
Professor Dowling overlooks a critical point: in 1989, under then-president Francis Lawrence, Rutgers joined the prestigious Association of American Universities, albeit 80 years after Nebraska.
Rutgers has much to celebrate, achieving high rankings in both academics and football. The university community should embrace this status with pride and refrain from discrediting comparable institutions.
Instead of perpetuating rivalries over numbers, Rutgers should focus on excelling where it truly matters.
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