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According to Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press, Rutgers Athletic Director Keli Zinn has pledged to provide Steve Pikiell with roster budget support to put him on a similar level as the university’s competitors. The belief here is that Pikiell was able to build the program during the first years of his tenure, and that the implementation of NIL and related factors disrupted that climb.
Zinn followed the Rutgers men’s basketball team out to Los Angeles for their two game west coast road trip. Zinn was in attendance for the Scarlet Knights’ 78-75 loss to USC and did a halftime interview with Rutgers radio voice Jerry Recco.
“You take a look at everybody from a historical perspective, and (I) was able to see the progress that Coach Pikiell and his crew had, particularly for a couple of years there, and then the world of NIL comes along and was a little bit of a disruption for him. We’re going to put him in a spot where we’re more on the same page with folks around the country who are his competitors,” said Zinn during the interview.
It sounds like Zinn is giving Pikiell a bit of a grace period as her department does what it needs to do to put Rutgers on a somewhat even playing field financially. She also said during the interview that she believes her team’s progress in this area is coming along very well.
She also spoke about the coming changes to Jersey Mike’s Arena and what they are looking to do with the building. It appears that they are looking to make changes with the building they already have, rather than undertaking a massive overhaul, so as not to ruin the incredible atmosphere the building has.
“I had a number of people tell me about it before I got to experience it live, and it exceeded every expectation. As a gal who came into this business in the old Big East days, it reminded me of that level of basketball atmosphere, and that is really special.”
“We’re taking a closer look at that infrastructure right now. One of the things that’s been really clear is, let’s figure out how to bring some things online, for fan amenities, but preserve that bowl. To think there’s only 8,000 in there and it sounds like 16,000, we’re going to work really hard to not mess that up.”
Zinn did not provide a timeline as to when these changes might take place; however, Rutgers has a deal with Jersey Mike’s that states that they must have a new arena or make substantial improvements to the current arena by July 1st, 2028. If the changes are not made, Jersey Mike’s can opt out of the naming deal they have in place with the university.
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