Over the last few months, Rutgers Athletics, in coordination with the Big Ten® Conference and with advice from public health officials, has worked tirelessly to provide a safe return to competition for 650+ Scarlet Knights. More recently, the Big Ten announced the postponement of the fall sports season, including men’s & women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, and volleyball. While football has returned, the financial impact is still being felt. This decision-making process, one of the hardest our leaders have ever had to undertake, was always based in the interest of the health and safety of our student-athletes and the broader community.
In the wake of the decision to postpone the season, we, like all of our peer institutions, are facing a financial crisis. Ticket purchases, annual R Fund contributions and endowment support represent more than $17 million of the athletic department’s revenue in 2019-20. We rely on these revenues to fund the scholarships, programs, and opportunities for our 650+ Scarlet Knight student-athletes to develop and compete at the highest level.
We want to ensure that we continue to develop our student-athletes both on and off the field so that you can be proud and excited to root on your Scarlet Knights! Without further investment from our community, the athletics program we love as Scarlet Knights is at risk.
