Following New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s announcement that his statewide limit of 500 people at outdoor gatherings would apply to the local NFL teams, Rutgers University announced it will also limit its crowd to below 500 people.
“Rutgers University announced today that all Rutgers Athletics venues will operate in accordance with the executive orders issued by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy limiting outdoor gatherings to 500 people or fewer,” the university said in a statement. “All safety precautions will be in place for those individuals who will be in attendance.”
The expectation is that the spectators will be limited to the immediate family of players and coaches. This announcement comes off the heels that each of the teams in the Big Ten will play a conference-only schedule.
“We understand and support the Governor's decision based on health and safety guidelines. Athletic department officials will continue to monitor any changes to public health guidelines and adjust accordingly,” the statement continues. “Additionally, the Big Ten Conference announced earlier this month a plan to move fall sports to a conference-only schedule. Details regarding such schedule shall be forthcoming.”
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In addition, Athletic Director Pat Hobbs released a statement of his own where he voiced support for Gov. Murphy’s decision.
“I know all of you are looking forward to Rutgers football with the exciting return of Greg Schiano. While we were unable to have spring football, we have made remarkable progress this offseason,” the statement reads. “We understand and support the Governor’s decision based on health and safety guidelines.”
Hobbs also offered thanks to the non-Big Ten teams Rutgers was scheduled to face in the upcoming season.
“Earlier this month, the Big Ten conference announced that its members would play conference-only schedules this fall. This was done to create consistent safety protocols to protect the well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and all those involved in game day activities, as well as to provide maximum flexibility and control over our schedule,” Hobbs said. “We express our sincere thanks to Monmouth, Temple and Syracuse for their understanding and look forward to contests with them in the years to come.”
Although the news might not come as a complete surprise, it is no less heartbreaking for the Scarlet Knights’ faithful who were looking to be a part of Schiano’s first game back in Piscataway since 2011.
“It’s definitely a bummer because there was so much excitement surrounding the program with the return of Greg Schiano,” Rutgers student Andrew Galvach said. “We were ready to carry the energy from basketball season into football season.”
While there are those who are skeptical as to whether there is going to be a season, Galvach thinks college football will follow the lead of professional sports’s handling of COVID-19.
“I personally believe there will be a college football season molded around how professional leagues are conducting, no fans, constant testing and potentially game cancellations if teams have a lot of positive tests that could push the season into deep December or even January,” Galvach explains. “Also, with last semester and basketball season getting cut short we were all looking to get back to some sort of normal.”
Along with Galvach, fellow Rutgers student Ryan O’Connor is also dejected by the news and Schiano’s return being spoiled.
“I’m definitely disappointed because I only have four years to go to games as a student and to have that be taken away this year is tough, especially with the hype surrounding Coach Greg Schiano’s first year back,” O’Connor said. “But, I do think it’s for the best given what’s going on in the world and it was probably inevitable that this was going to happen.”
Furthermore, O’Connor believes how the NFL handles the coronavirus pandemic is going to play a key role when it comes to the upcoming college football season.
“I really think it’s going to depend on what the NFL does with their season, I see the NFL being the guide for what the Power Five and most Division I conferences do to either have a season safely or shift it to the spring or just cancel the season altogether,” O’Connor continues. “However, college football means so much to the athletic revenue of schools that I would definitely think that the majority of programs will do everything in their power to play this year, they just have to establish protocols on how to do it safely.”
According to an NJ Advance Media analysis, Rutgers would face a nearly $50 million loss in revenue if the 2020 season were to be canceled.
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