Rutgers President Robert Barchi can "pinpoint the many ways that the Big Ten Conference has impacted the university," according to Keith Sargeant of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Barchi wrote in a letter on March 2, "Our athletic programs, and the university as a whole, are now receiving national attention and exposure. That attention and exposure is reflected across the university." He added, "Applications for admission to Rutgers are up by 12 percent, with out-of-state applications up by 15 percent. The average SAT score of admitted applicants to Rutgers has increased by more than 20 points since our entrance to the Big Ten; this is an unprecedented improvement.'' Rutgers VP/Enrollment Management Courtney McAnuff said, "I think prospective students always knew the name of Rutgers, but probably didn't know exactly where it was. And so I think in terms of domestically, the Big Ten certainly has helped our exposure and awareness for our prospective students, indicating where we are in New Jersey, proximity to New York, and those things have made a very positive difference." She added, "We hear, 'We saw Rutgers on TV, we didn't know where you guys were.' I hear a lot of that. You hear things about they want to see the Big Ten competition. And certainly in the Big Ten states we're up significantly in every big state with the exception of Ohio. But every other Big Ten state there's been a double-digit increase" (NJ.com, 3/30).
