NFL comings and goings: the Jaguars cut Tiquan Underwood, who then signed with the Patriots. The Broncos cut Nate Jones.
Kirk Ciarrocca resurfaces: kind of. As genuinely horrific he was as a bowl subdivision offensive coordinator, he wasn't a bad receivers coach at all. Is sort of the Greg Robinson principle in play here? In that, once a formerly competent coach is over-promoted so far out of his element that success becomes impossible, he regresses into becoming virtually unemployable? I mean, even Gary Crowton found work at Maryland after his horrific past few seasons at LSU. Speaking of which, it might just be time to reclaim Randy Edsall's genius moniker...
Oliver Luck says that the Big East will exceed the ACC's television contract in its next deal. It kinda makes you wonder - between that, and all the anonymous quote about poaching BC and Maryland, is there any chance that the ACC would make a pre-emptive strike? I mean, this is the ACC we're talking about here.
From mgoblog: what statistical factors are meaningful in projection college football team performance? The full projections aren't there, but it looks like there are a few factors that would work in RU's favor this year.
That new dorm on the Busch campus looks really nice. Between that and the Livingston upgrades (reviews on the Gateway Center have been mixed), it's been a nice little run lately for on-campus construction.
Cash-strapped public universities are increasingly turning to out-of-state students to make up for funding shortfalls. Even though Rutgers has a reputation that every student is from New Jersey (and it seems like half of the students are from Edison or East Brunswick), Rutgers is actually a top 25 school when it comes to out of state admissions.
Rutgers is one of eleven U.S. universities selected by the federal government to partner with Indian higher education institutions. Don't really know anything about the program, but it'd make sense if Rutgers was paired with the top university in Gujarat given local demographics.
Pres. McCormick's former top deputy is in line to receive 400k in deferred compensation. That isn't going to play well in times of fiscal austerity, but they had a contract. Rutgers has to pay the market rate if they want to stay near the top of the academic food chain. That being said, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world if some of the higher earners followed the lead of McCormick and Schiano at times and gave some of the dough back.
Speaking of McCormick, here's the search committee for the new president. As previously announced, Rutgers football booster Greg Brown is running the show on this one, which is a good sign both for athletics, and the university as a whole given how successful Brown has been in his other endeavors.
All you need to know about the failed Xanadu project: it's not viable without an injection of one BILLION in public funds, and then expects to attract patrons while charging $4 for parking. Who else is still waiting for George Zoffinger to explain why Xanadu was such a great idea, but Rutgers issuing issuing 100 million or so in bonds tied to future ticket revenues was fiscally irresponsible? If you can't get enough of the worst mall in the history of time, this New York Magazine profile is just the red meat that you were looking for. As good as Gov. Christie's been at keeping perspective on the Rutgers athletic department, his continued defense of Xanadu is not only unfathomable but hypocritical.
