On Sunday, Rutgers Basketball fans, athletes, and coaches flocked to Topgolf in Edison to celebrate the second annual Scarlet Open presented by the Knight Society. Similar to the inaugural Open in 2023, this year's event featured teams of supporters featuring sponsors and fans who purchased tickets for the event and paired with players on the team to put up the most points possible.
After taking home the first trophy, Newroads Financial Group could not repeat as Scarlet Open champions. Atlantic Physical Therapy Center took home the championship putting up over 25,000 points in the two hours allotted.
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"I thought it was awesome," Knight Society co-founder Geo Baker said following the event. "We started off the day just talking about how important it is for community and support and everyone being in one place together. Everyone had a good time, everyone competed with the team. I just felt like it was fun overall. And financially we accomplished some goals as well, which is obviously the goal of NIL, and it's important right now in this landscape."
The day first started as fans began to file in just before noon, and the rest of the team followed suit. Former Scarlet Knights forward and current radio color commentator Austin Johnson served as the master of ceremonies for the second consecutive year, and introduced the event with remarks before Baker and Ron Harper Jr. gave their opening remarks.
Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell then introduced himself and his team, discussing the importance of supporting NIL, especially in the ever-changing landscape of college athletics. Pikiell even took a couple of good-natured jabs at his players about their golf skills - he revealed to the crowd that Jamichael Davis and Emmanuel Ogbole had each won youth golf championships in their younger years.
He then revealed another announcement about a new Knight Society partnership. Stirling Fine Wines, who has already partnered with the company through the Penelope Bourbon Scarlet Toast, will also be partnering with actor and director Mark Wahlberg send a video message announcing that he and his Flecha Azul tequila would partner with Stirling and Knight Society, as with each purchase Knight Society gets a small share of the revenue.
From there, it was off to the bays to golf.
The main difference in structure from the first Scarlet Open to the second was the elimination of the tournament format. Instead, each team would have the allotted two hours to put up as many points as possible, with the winner being determined at the end.
Aside from that difference, Baker noted most of the event was similar to the prior year.
We had a microphone for the event [this time], that was good," he joked. "For the most part, it was, you know, basically the same. We wanted to get everyone in here. We wanted the guys to understand that these people support them, not just on the court, put off the court as well. And I think that, you know, the guys did a good job of going around and shaking hands and meeting people and learning about their stories. And that's what Rutgers is all about. It's just people helping each other."
Following the actual competition, all of the spectators and players rejoined for the presentation of the trophy as well as the auction results. One of the more sought-after items, a Green Bay Packers helmet signed by Aaron Rodgers, was in fact won by incoming freshman Dylan Harper, even though the team had already left by the time the auction results were announced. Assistant coaches TJ Thompson and Marlon "Smoke" Williamson were able to hold on to it for him, thankfully.
By the late afternoon, another successful Scarlet Open had come and gone, with all in attendance - including Baker - satisfied with the results.
After the event, he talked about the sky-high expectations for the upcoming season, and how he thinks the team will handle it.
"it's going to be really interesting to watch, I'm excited for it," he said. "Obviously, I think this is probably the most talented team that Coach Pikes has ever had. With that, it's going to have its own obstacles as well, you know, with trying to make sure that guys are getting their shots and guys are playing the certain amount of minutes. It's tough, but as long as all the guys are focused on the same goal, and that goal is just winning basketball games, they're going to be very, very special, I think."
On a grander scale, Baker is enthusiastic about the direction the Scarlet Knights are headed in all sports, especially given the hype for several teams this season.
"I think people are definitely more excited to give this year, which is awesome," he said. "I think that's a combination of things. I think people are just starting to understand, too, how important it is. Obviously the athletic teams are just continuing to build and get better. Football is going to be great this year. Basketball is obviously very highly anticipated, and then you got women's basketball again, you know, five star freshman now as well, in Kiyomi [McMiller]. So it's just a lot going on."
As for the future? Baker says Knight Society is continuing to emphasize events and look for more partnerships to support Rutgers athletes.
"We're obviously very event based, but I think one of the things that we focusing on is brand partnerships and trying to expand another sports," he said. "We've been doing a lot with women's basketball and just trying to get the athletes involved and learning more about them being a business, them being a brand, and just having fun with it too. I think it's fun when you get a brand deal and you're able to kind of showcase something a little bit and get paid for it. We're really focusing on trying to find more brand partners as well."
Rutgers Men's Basketball starts its season November 6th at Jersey Mike's Arena against Wagner.
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