Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs said that because of a partnership forged between Rutgers and the Yankees that could see more RU games played at Yankee Stadium in future years, what "started off as a head-scratching deal-in-principle should turn into something lucrative down the line," according to Keith Sargeant of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Hobbs said, "If Rutgers is New York City's Big Ten team, we want Yankee Stadium to be part of Rutgers' home in the Big Ten. The Yankees already have a great partnership with the Big Ten with the Pinstripe Bowl. We want our brand to be in Yankee Stadium because that's part of taking advantage of what the Big Ten brand does for us in New York." Sargeant notes Yankees Exec Dir of Non-Baseball Events Mark Holtzman is "credited for the numerous soccer games, hockey classics, soccer events, boxing matches and concerts that have come through Yankee Stadium" since the new ballpark was opened in '09. Holtzman said, "Next to baseball, which is obviously our core business, there's nothing more important to the Steinbrenner family than college football. George [Steinbrenner] was a Big Ten football coach, at Purdue and at Northwestern, so there's a history there and this stadium was built specifically to accommodate football. I don't think anybody envisioned the Pinstripe Bowl would grow so fast, but it has." Sargeant writes it is "impossible to quantify what having the Rutgers brand in such a prime location does for the State University of New Jersey." Holtzman: "At the Yankee home games we run a spot on the board with (football) Coach (Chris) Ash up there. ... We also do some stuff with the YES Network. We have a lot of resources" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/21).
GIMME A COLD ONE: In N.Y., John Healy notes Rutgers is "suspending its student tailgate for the rest of the season," and the announcement came hours after a video surfaced of Hobbs "drinking a beer on stage in front of a charged-up crowd prior to Saturday’s game against New Mexico." Hobbs "apologized for his behavior, claiming in a statement that he was just trying to restore order to a tailgate that was reportedly getting out of hand." The video "shows Hobbs with a microphone addressing the crowd when somebody offers him a drink." Hobbs said, “No I can’t drink that right now." But after the crowd egged him on, he eventually "caved into the student peer pressure" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/21).
