tr= l* ;€/ LIJ $\i@g i.#*: , .,'dffimwf*!.anhd€Ferd* .+"d{lnfff***:*4:" An unforgertable season turned the spotlight on all things RUtgefS By Btll Clovin ourtney McAnuff knor,vs the pressure Cardinals quar- regional, and national media interested in the university's terback Brian Brohm must have feit from the pass rush academic programs and research innovations," he says during the Scarlet Knights remarkable second half $.hile also pointing to a recent report that ranked Rutgers comeback against the University of Louisville on eighth among the 64 bowl-bound teams in the NCAA's November 9. McAnuff, the rice president for enroll- Academic Performance Rate, a measurement of players' ment management at Rutgers, has had to deal with a academic performance toward graduation. different kind of blitz. "Before the game, the most "It began with the Insight Bowl in 2005, rvhere we people \,\re eler hacl touring the New Brunsr,vick/ received an estimated $16 million in free publicity," says Piscataway Campus in a rreek l'as 600." savs \,IcAnuff. Kevin MacConnell, deputy director of intercollegiate 2 "The rveek following the game, l.e had 3,200 r'isitors- athletics on the New Brunswick/Piscataway Campus. o and needed ertra buses to accommodate them. The "\Ve can't even begin to measure what that number demand for tour gr-ricles and buses has been over- arnounted to through almost three months of being F r-helning-and it's all becanse of the media exposure undefeated in 2006. Students, their parents, alumni, and = we've receiled fron foorball." former football letter winners have rallied around the From Rutgers students camping out all night for team like never before." What MacConnell can measure: o tickets, ro rhe Empire State Building being illuminated season ticket { sales that are up 50 percent, the in scarlet, the success of Rutgers football has helped Rutgers-Louisville game's rating rhar was the third high- o accentuate the unir.ersitl''s national statur:e and lifted the est in ESPN's history of televising college football, and spirits of tens of thousands of Rutgers aiumni and New an average home field attendance of 4l,ll2 per game. yorkers). = Jersevans (and even New According to Greg Says MacConnell, "Rutgers football has been a great o Treror, senior director of media relations, this year,s o his- source of pride for the citizens of New Jersey and o toric football season has f, also had a positive, dramatic allowed the university a chance to showcase all our ,,Our effect on media intertst in Rutgers. office has remarkable programs and the wonderful things that we experienced a significant increase in riequests from state, do. \A4rat more can you say?" l8 RUTGERs MAGAztNE i o { o F s out Thousands of Rutgers students assemble-many after camping from a histoty-making season.Top row, I to r: NewYork City's Empire State Dinner, o Highlights Eric Foster overnight-to obtain tickets to the Louisville game' Defensive tackle Building glows scarlet on the day of the Rutgers-Louisville game. The architect behind to the First-Team All' becomes the first Rutgers defensive player to be named Rutgers' accomplishments is Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano' Fans come Amelicateaminthemodernera.Bottomrow:MikeFrancesa(left)andchris f with theif signs to celebrate EsPN's presence, ESPN's Lee Corso (right) interviews ready of lntercollegiate Russo, aka Mike and the Mad Dog, intetview Rutgers' Director winner of several "Coach of the Year" honors, after being named the ESPN/ o Schiano, popularWFAN'AM/YES o of Athletics Robert Mulcahy (center) after bringing their Home Depot Coach of the Year. Middle row: Fullback Brian Leonard (left)-recipient o (known in many circles as the'Academic" Heisman) and a 525'000 Networkafternoondrivetimesimulcasttocampus.Jetemy..theJud$e''lto the DraddyTrophy provides advice Rutgers'all-time record of 47 field goals'A student's sign postgraduate with New York Giants center shaun o'Hara LC'05 at breaks scholarship-poses Ray Rice' to team MostValuable Player and Second Team All-America tailback the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's 49th Annual Awards wrNrER 2007 l9 scarletsports TheJLrrraround The , their way to doty E z 81 Bll Clovin u; horth' belore kickoff against Syracuse University on emotion in his voice, he added, "They've grown and o emotion Saturday, Nor-ember 25, a sellout crowd at Rutgers gone through probably every conceivable o z Stirdium rose to its feet as ?6 seniors ran onto the field kno$'n to man in their time here at Rutgers. I respect - for-their'final home game as Scar'let Knights. Nine had them a great dea1. I'm indebted to them for what f sr-rffered thror-rgh a 1-11 season as redshirts (fi.eshmen they've done for the program, and I'm also very proud o tr'itl'r are ineligible to plal' of them, as a father would be of his kids." o who can practice the team but F the point? o in games) in 2002. \Iant of lhem contributed to helping What do the seniors think was turning = the team to steadily impror-e oler the next two seasons Some describe winning a pivotal game; others believe ,t 4 "chop- I ar-rd. in 2005, finish 7-4 and win a trip to the Insight it was a work ethic (coined by their coach as F Bol'1. In 2006, tl'rev provided the leadership that would ping") and a winning culture ihat evolved over time. All o o had no regrets about committing to Rutgers- lead Rutgers to a 10-2 record and the inaugr.rral Texas said they o Bowl in Houston--{ne of its best seasons in history. despite the difficult season in 2002. One of the team At head football coach Greg Schiano's weekly captains, Brian Leonard, spoke for the group when he T press conf'erence at the Hale Center before the added, "I'm glad I came when I did. We can always.look o o Syracuse game, he called the seniors who came in2002 back and say we were the guys that turned the program o I "a special group of young men." With a rare twinge of around." 2O RUTGERs MAGAztNE "il:,T,T:ss,l: tord us fi onr the beginni ,1;:::::'lp.^'1q.:: r3l*.^.-T1:n o'e'right; .r:n,"no "rl,:i1i,,:il- ,n* *" ::;::,:.ffTilYLv ruLLts .,lr wnat we were abre to conrror, rike .'ri*. """0'"0 har_d rr..ri.rr;;"*-lar we then rre \r'orr fnrr, f;,,^ ' \\o1l olle game; u.'a,.*-lJ--r ^^-- ;;; fi ::::'" :: l:1, ?l i":' ";.,, ;;i',:Jl: T,T:; ;;?*i:,:1,:ll some kind .r .r,"",f,.";* n;ri;,j'?,iJ illliifto. trre peopre getf;:1T:,:l^: rherc :T,1::"".0 il#;"";iil"',:j;'::Ji; also. Somerimes we ralk abo,-,t horr,far *.n"-.-"" it's more ,l5r,#r:Ill important to concentrate on the task that's right in fi-or-rt of vor.,,you." William Beckford ,,I UCNB'07, defensive end; saw rhe spark ond half i. the sec_ of the Vanderbilt game in 2004 ya Z7_Z+come_from_bel.rind victory in which Rurgers t it"a27_z in the tnira q;;*4 *;#10,. - a:". on one play at a rime, nor worrying boardl"^:::-:::T1j".,r abour rhe score_ or anything else-just tn,-r""t piuy. u* il.-:1ffi"r:'ntfi;:; eyes that they'eally believed. Thatls rvhen"" the""t senior leadership really srarted to take over' we got to a point whe.. tr.. t"ui"., took care ortne nttte trrir.rgs on and off the fierd and coach Schiano rvas able to.iust focus on footba'.,, Shawn Tucker RC'02, receiver: .As a yolrnger player, I saw that the older guys *-ho bought i'to Coach s.rtrr:." ,'fliilosophr.*,ere rhe ::"j,"T*:g plays. So r followed. rhe things .,"; ;";;;;l;.; .;;;" field a]so began ro pay off. art.r tt"-r'ffi ffi'# ffi,l"n"l! 3""..:T;.:TjT,T1ll jt".i*;::...*",o"ra".ii.iil;,;;;J;#;:',l; ilffitogether :trllfj*'^'Tl:*::T:-",u'n"pr1sr1muf off the fiercl, n'hich creared i;;tirit*" "r,"TJ"l;;Jd;: -..; "i" ",-.rpir"r"l B,rian leonard RC'02, fullbackl ,,The Nar,y game ar home in 2005 Ot"y *" t ua L-*i,l-tnut b.ecollfowli3^:^a::mindser. .* ,i*tn game ro etigible. It was kind of ..".ru* gu_;, b* f;r;"r; ': ahead. That was the moment_when Ray iRicejscored that last touch_ down. It also showed us that we could ii"irn g;r"". After that, r,r,hen games were close, we knew " how to finish and expected to win.,, Anthony Cali ,,I RG'06, tight end: sensed it was turning around td:r star-rec1 l5l :n: ryyr taking more of a le:rctership r.ote. When we came in, the older guys wlren,t ,lro, 1",".*"alrrifr'" younger guys. one of the. mo-st rervarding exper.iences has been perse\rer_ ing with people I'll be fiiends with for itr. ,=r, of my life. W" got tL"r" together' And *'e'r'e shown the yourger g'r's how hard you ,-r""i to ouo.k to ivin in the Big East.', I Assistant alumni editor Mike Basforcl contributed to tltis stort. vrNrER 2007 2l.