Rutgers football games "won’t have fans in attendance at SHI Stadium this fall" as a result of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's executive order banning outdoor gatherings of over 500 people, which likely will mean a $5M "hit to a state university that has one of the nation’s most heavily subsidized athletics departments," according to Keith Sargeant of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. The school earned $5.09M in "home-game profit" during the '18 football season, which accounted for 4.9% of its $103.3M revenue total in FY '19. Rutgers "averaged 30,081 fans for its seven home games last fall, but the announced figure doesn’t represent the actual total of fans that went through the gates." Rutgers officials had "expressed confidence that more fans would’ve attended games in 2020 based on the interest in Greg Schiano’s return as Scarlet Knights coach." The lack of fans "certainly will impact Rutgers’ athletic department revenues" for FY' '21 (Newark STAR-LEDGER 7/21). In New Jersey, Steven Falk notes games against Nebraska, Michigan and Penn State had "figured to draw sellout or close to sellout crowds in the 52,454-seat capacity SHI Stadium" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 7/21).
MORE TO COME? The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman predicted there will be more orders similar to that from New Jersey "from different states and different programs." He said, "I do think this is a desperate attempt to get football in. If it wasn't for football, it probably wouldn't take on this kind of importance” (“The Paul Finebaum Show,” ESPN, 7/20).
