Rutgers coach Greg Schiano isn’t thrilled about taking his team away from the cozy confines of Rutgers Stadium on Saturday in order to play Army (4-2) at the New Meadowlands Stadium.
But since Rutgers (3-2) will make $2.7 million for the game, compared with $1.5 million for a normal home game, it was a necessary evil.
“It was purely financial. I know as the head coach of the football program at Rutgers, we’re part of the University, we’re part of an Athletic Department and I don’t think it would be responsible not to take advantage of the opportunity that’s presented to us,” Schiano said Tuesday.
“On the same hand, we’re not looking to do this over and over again. I think we have a definite home field advantage at Rutgers Stadium, there’s no doubt about it. We want to make sure that we can take advantage of that home field advantage as much as possible but this will be a great opportunity for our players, our fans and also a great financial gain for our Athletic Department.”
Though New York is not a college football town, the New Meadowlands Stadium and Yankee Stadium will both host several key games in the coming years.
Syracuse will host USC (2012), Penn State (2013) and Notre Dame (2014, 2016) at the Meadowlands.
Including this season, Army will play in Yankee Stadium every year against programs like Air Force (2012) and Boston College (2014).
Rutgers and Notre Dame will play at both the Meadowlands and at Yankee Stadium in the next few years, with a Miami-Rutgers game a possibility in 2013.
Rutgers will have its hands full Saturday, and Schiano sounds like he can’t wait to return to Rutgers Stadium.
“It’s going to be a challenge, on top of that, we’re playing up at the Meadowlands which, although it will be a great opportunity to play in a state-of-the-art stadium, it is not Rutgers Stadium, it is not home,” Schiano said. “We know we’re up against it, we know we’re playing a very good football team but we’re going to do everything in our power to be prepared and then go out and play the best we can play.”
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