Should the Big East help Rutgers?
March, 28, 2012

By Andrea Adelson

Rutgers is asking the Big East for financial relief because of a lost home game, thanks to TCU bolting for the Big 12.

There are two fundamental questions that should be asked.

1. Should the Big East help Rutgers?

2. Take it a step further: Should the Big East also help Syracuse, UConn and Pitt -- which also lost scheduled home games against TCU?

There is no doubt TCU put the Big East in a serious bind when it bolted for the Big 12, without ever playing a down in the conference. Its addition would have allowed the Big East to play an eight-game league schedule, complete with four home and four road games. Instead, the unbalanced schedule remains. Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse and UConn only get three league games at home.

Here is a look at what all four teams did to mitigate the TCU loss.

UConn: The Huskies also have six home games -- UMass, NC State, Buffalo, Temple, Pitt and Cincinnati.

Pitt: The Panthers may have taken the biggest hit of all. They paid money to get out of a nonconference game against UCF to make way for TCU. Then had to add another nonconference game to make up for the loss of TCU. That means two FCS opponents for the Panthers at home, plus the loss of West Virginia at home. That leaves these games at Heinz Field: Youngstown State, Virginia Tech, Gardner-Webb, Louisville, Temple and Rutgers. Go ahead, insert your lots-of-empty-yellow-seats jokes here.

Rutgers: Rather than schedule a second FCS game to give Rutgers seven home contests, the Scarlet Knights are going on the road to play Arkansas. The six-game home slate features Howard, UConn, Syracuse, Kent State, Army and Louisville.

Syracuse: The Orange have one of their home games at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and ended up playing at Missouri to fill its final nonconference slot. The home slate -- Northwestern, Stony Brook, Pitt, UConn, Louisville. Two of those games in the Carrier Dome are on Friday nights.

No question losing a home game costs a team money. Rutgers says it makes between $1.2 and $1.7 million a game. But every single team was put into a bind, home game or not, with the loss of TCU. All eight Big East schools have had to scramble to fill that fifth nonconference game. Cincinnati had to add a second FCS game, too, but at least that one is at home. USF is going on the road to play Nevada.

Ultimately, you have to decide whether the Big East is responsible for the scheduling fiasco of 2012. I know plenty of you out there will raise your hand and say yes. Losing a home game no doubt hurts worse. Perhaps the best solution is to divide up the $5 million exit fee TCU paid among the four schools that dealt with a hole in their home schedule.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/i...Today_Team

Rutgers is just complaining because they broke the bank renovating/expanding their stadium and upgrading their other football facilities. Now that the well has run dry they have no where else to look.

(03-29-2012 08:35 AM)ctipton Wrote:  Should the Big East help Rutgers?
March, 28, 2012

By Andrea Adelson

Rutgers is asking the Big East for financial relief because of a lost home game, thanks to TCU bolting for the Big 12.

There are two fundamental questions that should be asked.

1. Should the Big East help Rutgers?

2. Take it a step further: Should the Big East also help Syracuse, UConn and Pitt -- which also lost scheduled home games against TCU?

There is no doubt TCU put the Big East in a serious bind when it bolted for the Big 12, without ever playing a down in the conference. Its addition would have allowed the Big East to play an eight-game league schedule, complete with four home and four road games. Instead, the unbalanced schedule remains. Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse and UConn only get three league games at home.

Here is a look at what all four teams did to mitigate the TCU loss.

UConn: The Huskies also have six home games -- UMass, NC State, Buffalo, Temple, Pitt and Cincinnati.

Pitt: The Panthers may have taken the biggest hit of all. They paid money to get out of a nonconference game against UCF to make way for TCU. Then had to add another nonconference game to make up for the loss of TCU. That means two FCS opponents for the Panthers at home, plus the loss of West Virginia at home. That leaves these games at Heinz Field: Youngstown State, Virginia Tech, Gardner-Webb, Louisville, Temple and Rutgers. Go ahead, insert your lots-of-empty-yellow-seats jokes here.

Rutgers: Rather than schedule a second FCS game to give Rutgers seven home contests, the Scarlet Knights are going on the road to play Arkansas. The six-game home slate features Howard, UConn, Syracuse, Kent State, Army and Louisville.

Syracuse: The Orange have one of their home games at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and ended up playing at Missouri to fill its final nonconference slot. The home slate -- Northwestern, Stony Brook, Pitt, UConn, Louisville. Two of those games in the Carrier Dome are on Friday nights.

No question losing a home game costs a team money. Rutgers says it makes between $1.2 and $1.7 million a game. But every single team was put into a bind, home game or not, with the loss of TCU. All eight Big East schools have had to scramble to fill that fifth nonconference game. Cincinnati had to add a second FCS game, too, but at least that one is at home. USF is going on the road to play Nevada.

Ultimately, you have to decide whether the Big East is responsible for the scheduling fiasco of 2012. I know plenty of you out there will raise your hand and say yes. Losing a home game no doubt hurts worse. Perhaps the best solution is to divide up the $5 million exit fee TCU paid among the four schools that dealt with a hole in their home schedule.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/i...Today_Team

MAYBE Pitt can bring in Ben Rapensberger and have him sign autographs for a weekend. I'd think those avid steeler fans could raise the money to offset pitt's losses.

Considering how much government money Rutgers gets.. I don't really care.

Seriously, would Rutgers enjoy life a little better if they just left the league? I'm surprised they didn't go our route (two D-IAA games). It's what they've done in the past

Rutgers just looking for reasons to leave the conf. Problem is - thus far - no one wants them.