Rutgers University board should continue sports teams

Patrick Diegnan

Guest Column

I am proud to be among the 8 million residents of New Jersey who are bursting with pride over the success of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team. The Louisville game was literally like a Hollywood script right down to the last-minute missed field goal, which was immediately turned into the game winner due to the offside penalty. Being able to witness the thousands of jubilant fans rushing the field at the end of the game creating a sea of red is a highlight of my life. The success of the Rutgers football program has done more than call national attention to a great university. It has made us all proud to live in New Jersey.

For those who question the value of sports as part of higher education, this season of Rutgers football should be the answer. The sports program not only gives outstanding athletes the opportunity to compete, it also gives the entire student body the opportunity to appreciate athletic achievement.

Sports create an atmosphere of community on campus and an energy, which can positively affect a student for the rest of his or her life. That is why the ancient Greeks included athletics as an integral part of the definition of “university.”

This sense of pride and accomplishment should not only be limited to major sports like football and basketball, but to all athletes. Rutgers has decided to eliminate six sports programs from its intercollegiate program — men’s heavyweight and lightweight crew, men’s and women’s fencing, men’s swimming and diving and men’s tennis.

The Board of Governors of Rutgers should reconsider its decision to eliminate these teams at the conclusion of this academic year in June 2007. The elimination of these teams will save Rutgers, at best, approximately $750,000 in its annual budget of over $1.5 billion of which $500 million comes from state aid. The 115 students who participate in these sports are among our brightest and best. The participants are not only intelligent; they are outstanding athletes. The six eliminated teams historically graduate 100 percent of their students, the vast majority of whose grade point averages are in excess of 3.5.

Rutgers’ fencing team has been a finalist in the NCAA National Championships for each of the last twenty years. The crew, swim and tennis teams have produced Olympians and a host of All-Big East Candidates. These programs reflect the excellence of the university.

All members of the Legislature recognize that this was a difficult budget year for all of our state colleges and universities-including Rutgers. As chair of the Higher Education Committee in the General Assembly, I have given my commitment to President McCormick and Athletic Director Bob Mulchay to work for additional funding in this year’s state budget to cover the cost of these programs.

Upon reflection I believe that the Board of Governors will reach the same conclusion that I have: continuing these six programs will only enhance the pride of being a Rutgers student or alumnus.

Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, South Plainfield, is a Democrat representing New Jersey’s 18th Legislative District