I don't know if I was the only one waiting for Steve Politi to heap praise on Tim Pernetti, but here you go. It's hard to determine when exactly certain decisions were in the works. Some of the credit undoubtedly should go to AAD Kevin MacConnell and Bob Mulcahy. But, this next line, holy -
In the coming days, Pernetti said the school will announce that athletic donations reached an all-time high for the fiscal year that ended in June despite the downturn in the economy. The bump is significant: Rutgers raised $11.7 million for the year, an all-time high and well above the previous record of $7.4 million.
Again, qualifiy that somewhat, but it certainly speaks for itself. Rutgers hasn't scratched the surface of its potential yet? Hell yes, full speed ahead on Starship Schiano. It gets better, too, with plans for new basketball facilities in the works. By the way, using last year's estimate of 28,000 season tickets, sales being up 15% puts the program at 32,200 right now.
Implicit in Pernetti's fundraising prowess is that he is telegenic, and a gifted public speaker. Tim would be a natural politician, and arguably has to be in his current position. I'm constantly in awe of how great a face he is for Rutgers athletics, better than Coach Schiano even. Pernetti wound up filling a desperate need that I didn't know even existed. I'd listen to him read the phone book, or buy ice from him if I was in Alaska. Regardless of the who exactly is responsible for each detail, I sort of feel like the only thing that matters is that the right speaker is delivering the message.