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BEDMINSTER – Greg Schiano was hired back in December of 2019 to coach the Rutgers football team and restore pride in the program.
But because of a lack of support that existed within the athletic department, there’s one major responsibility that Schiano couldn’t place his full focus on.
Coaching the team.
Those days are over.
Once new Rutgers president William Tate and athletics director Keli Zinn came onboard, they assumed much of the fundraising responsibility that had fallen squarely on the shoulders of Schiano and his top lieutenants, especially during the offseason.
And in the NIL era, fundraising requires countless hours of outreach and relationship building – hours that precluded Schiano from placing his full attention on issues surrounding his team.
“When I took the job, there was no such thing as NIL,” Schiano said Monday at his annual charity golf outing at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club. “And then, all of a sudden, that became a very big thing. For whatever reason, we weren't set up to do it the way other schools were.
“So we did it ourselves. (Chief of Staff Kevin MacConnell) and myself, we kind of just did our own fundraising. And that's hard to do. It takes so much time. And it takes time away from the thing that I'm actually hired to do, and that's recruit and develop young men to win football games.”
Zinn and her new administration have made it the top priority to fundraise and develop corporate sponsorships, infusing the entire department, including Rutgers football, with resources it had never had before – certainly not to the level of most of its Big Ten peers.
Schiano’s ability to retain star wide receiver KJ Duff provided all the evidence needed to show things are different.
But previously Schiano was forced to lead those efforts.
“When President Tate and Keli came in, they very quickly analyzed what was going on and they said, ‘Look, you don't need to do that anymore. You coach the team, and we'll handle that stuff,’” Schiano said. “And that's a heaven sent. Now, this has been the first offseason that I actually didn't have to do that stuff. And it's been really beneficial.”
To be clear, Schiano isn’t completely free of fundraising responsibilities – or other issues that the modern era of college football has brought.
But he’s already seeing the impact of having an administration that’s willingly taken so much of that off his plate – actually coaching the team can now be his top focus.
“There's always stuff to do,” Schiano said. “But I've been really able to focus on those things that I think are going to help us not only have a better football team, but have a better football program.”
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rutgers football: Greg Schiano seeing results of new administration
Continue reading...
But because of a lack of support that existed within the athletic department, there’s one major responsibility that Schiano couldn’t place his full focus on.
Coaching the team.
Those days are over.
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Once new Rutgers president William Tate and athletics director Keli Zinn came onboard, they assumed much of the fundraising responsibility that had fallen squarely on the shoulders of Schiano and his top lieutenants, especially during the offseason.
And in the NIL era, fundraising requires countless hours of outreach and relationship building – hours that precluded Schiano from placing his full attention on issues surrounding his team.
“When I took the job, there was no such thing as NIL,” Schiano said Monday at his annual charity golf outing at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club. “And then, all of a sudden, that became a very big thing. For whatever reason, we weren't set up to do it the way other schools were.
“So we did it ourselves. (Chief of Staff Kevin MacConnell) and myself, we kind of just did our own fundraising. And that's hard to do. It takes so much time. And it takes time away from the thing that I'm actually hired to do, and that's recruit and develop young men to win football games.”
Zinn and her new administration have made it the top priority to fundraise and develop corporate sponsorships, infusing the entire department, including Rutgers football, with resources it had never had before – certainly not to the level of most of its Big Ten peers.
Schiano’s ability to retain star wide receiver KJ Duff provided all the evidence needed to show things are different.
But previously Schiano was forced to lead those efforts.
“When President Tate and Keli came in, they very quickly analyzed what was going on and they said, ‘Look, you don't need to do that anymore. You coach the team, and we'll handle that stuff,’” Schiano said. “And that's a heaven sent. Now, this has been the first offseason that I actually didn't have to do that stuff. And it's been really beneficial.”
To be clear, Schiano isn’t completely free of fundraising responsibilities – or other issues that the modern era of college football has brought.
But he’s already seeing the impact of having an administration that’s willingly taken so much of that off his plate – actually coaching the team can now be his top focus.
“There's always stuff to do,” Schiano said. “But I've been really able to focus on those things that I think are going to help us not only have a better football team, but have a better football program.”
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rutgers football: Greg Schiano seeing results of new administration
Continue reading...
