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A huge task ahead for the new Rutgers Athletic Director
 Posted
5/17/2013 12:48:00 PM
It makes a catchy headline to say that Julie Hermann is the first female athletic director in Rutgers history. But it doesn't matter what's her gender. What matters is the set of credentials Hermann brings from the University of Louisville where she was the number-two person to one of the top a-d's in the nation, Tom Jurich. There are some who are questioning her qualifications because she was "only" second-in-command. But, in reality, those are the executives who do much of the heavy lifting in Fortune 500 companies while the CEO and President operates as the titular head or the "idea guy." I, for one, have no problem with Hermann's resume. If she was number-two at Louisville, based on that school's track record in competition, fund-raising and vision, that's good enough for me. What I'm more concerned about is if Hermann is able to successfully do the following which immediately ...
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Right man for the job...right now
Posted
4/23/2013 7:39:00 PM
Well played by Rutgers University. In an attempt to drag the school out of the embarrassing depths of the Mike Rice basketball scandal, RU accomplished what it needed to do right now---restore credibility. And, there's no better way to do it than to reach back into the Scarlet Knights' glorious past and hire the point guard from the 1976 Final Four team, Eddie Jordan. To use a political phrase, the move will excite the older segment of the Rutgers' fan base and alumni and begin to move the school away from the Rice debacle. Nationally, it also shows that RU officials were serious about the coaching aspect of the job by hiring the former head coach of three NBA franchises. However, what remains to be seen if Jordan can get the job done over the long haul. The last time he had to recruit high school players was ...
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Dr. Barchi should be the next to go
Posted
4/5/2013 5:33:00 PM
Whether you agree or disagree over Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti's role in the Mike Rice debacle, you have to respect the fact that Pernetti "fell on the sword" Friday and took responsibility for his actions by resigning. The same can not be said for first-year RU President Dr. Robert Barchi who was less than impressive the same day on the big stage of a media-packed news conference that officially announced Pernetti's resignation. Dr. Barchi looked like a small-time politician trying to wriggle off the hook when the question of why he didn't look at the explosive video of Rice's physical and verbal abuse at Scarlet Knight basketball practices before signing off on Pernetti's plan to discipline Rice instead of firing him back in December was repeatedly asked by the media. His basic answer that, if he had to do it again, he would have looked at the ...
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Rice has got to go immediately; Pernetti and Barchi have some serious questions to answer
Posted
4/2/2013 9:44:00 PM
By now, just about every Rutgers basketball fan, most alums and many curious bystanders have seen the video on ESPN showing Scarlet Knight coach Mike Rice physically and verbally abusing his players. We knew it was coming as early as last December but hardly any of us thought it would be so bad. In fact, it's reprehensible. Rice's behavior is abhorrent. So, even though he's already served a three-game suspension and paid a $50,000 fine, Rice must be fired immediately. His actions have given the State University of New Jersey a large black eye; making the school a national embarrassment. But firing Rice is the easy part and certainly no great basketball loss when you look at his losing record over three years. The hard part concerns Athletic Director Tim Pernetti and new President Dr. Robert Barchi. Both saw the video tape last year; both signed off on ...
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Good riddance to the Rutgers women's basketball season
Posted
3/9/2013 4:50:00 PM
If there was any more need for evidence that this was one of the worst seasons in Vivian Stringer's 18-year tenure as head coach of the women's basketball program, then this week in Hartford, Connecticut provided it. To begin with, when the Big East began handing out its individual post-season awards on Thursday, no Scarlet Knights were on All-League First Team...no Scarlet Knights were on All-League Second Team...and only one was on the Honorable Mention list (senior guard Erica Wheeler) and one of the All-Freshman Team (guard Kahleah Copper.) That's only two RU players listed among the top 38 in the Big East. Not very good for a team laden with McDonald's All-Americans and all-staters. Then, in Saturday's second round of the Big East Tournament, Stringer's ninth-seeded team blew an eleven-point lead in the first half and a five-point lead in the final five minutes to lose ...
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