Major funding for improvements to facilities for the Rutgers basketball and football programs are coming soon. Yesterday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) earmarked $100 million for Rutgers University athletics in the proposed budget for the state according to reporting from NJ Advance Media.
The money is specifically earmarked to be used for renovating Jersey Mike’s Arena and for the building of a proposed indoor practice facility for football.
Part of the deal in hiring football’s head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] was a commitment toward building an indoor practice facility. While a formal fundraising campaign should be announced soon, receiving some state funding is a major first step. The budget is expected to be passed on Wednesday and signed into law by Murphy on Thursday, per the report.
In a deal quietly hammered out last week, #NJ leaders agreed to earmark $100m to Rutgers to help fund the renovation of the university’s aging basketball arena and kick-start a sports practice facility @johnsb01 and me https://t.co/lPMJuKJju0
— Ted Sherman (@TedShermanSL) June 28, 2022
Also included in the budget is a commitment of $150 million additional to the Rutgers medical schools and $50 million for a research complex to be built in downtown New Brunswick.
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Peter McDonough Jr., the university’s senior vice president for external affairs spoke to Brent Johnson and Ted Sherman about the $300 million dollar investment in the university:
“The investments that the proposed budget makes in Rutgers University will help the state establish its role as a global leader in the innovation economy, will provide several hundred million dollars for aid to students and for making improvements to essential academic facilities in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden, and will provide seed money for enhancements to athletics facilities that will be overwhelmingly funded through private donations.”
After Rutgers athletics had a strong 2021-2022 season across the board, Tuesday’s news of the impending funding for the athletic department and the state university as a whole, better days continue to be on the horizon for all Scarlet Knights.
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