Rutgers currently has one of the nation's most heavily subsidized athletics programsGETTY IMAGES
Rutgers on Thursday released a report that school officials called a "comprehensive plan" for the athletic program "to reach competitiveness in a fiscally responsible manner," according to Keith Sargeant of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. The report, which is the result of a study conducted by College Sports Solutions, "shines a light on a lot of the issues facing Rutgers, one of the nation's most heavily subsidized athletics programs, as it competes in its fifth year in the Big Ten." In Rutgers' most recent FY report, the athletics program had a $47.4M shortfall in a $99.2M budget. Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs: "The report doesn’t shy away from Rutgers’ Big Ten on-field or financial struggles." Rutgers Athletics "took out a loan from the university’s internal bank" for $18.4M, and it was to "be paid in a series of installments" from '16-21. The report "recommends that Rutgers athletics 'seek forgiveness or reduction of the principal and/or interest of current university loans.'" The report also "gives details of its Big Ten loan structure and how much the athletics program will receive from the conference." Rutgers fans have pointed to '21 as the "year that the Scarlet Knights will be on a level playing field with their Big Ten brethren financially." However, Rutgers "won't receive the same money as its Big Ten peers" until '27. Still, the $43.7M distribution from the Big Ten in '21 "should go a long way toward diminishing its annual university subsidy" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/1).
