Rutgers football had a few brief moments of glory under Greg Schiano, and those days were lost because he could not keep the team close to the BCS bowl games. He was eventually fired because of the performance of the team, and the school has searched for other people to make their football team better. They have been hit by two years of probation from the NCAA because their compliance was called "casual." The problem with this is that Rutgers effectively had no choice. This is what happens when a school gets a little too impressed with itself.
The Big Ten is serious
Rutgers should never have gone to the Big Ten. They made the change when they thought that they could stay competitive for a decade or more, and that is where they were wrong. This school has gotten itself stuck in a conference that is much too difficult for its Football Program. The staff at the school likely had no choice but to do anything to make their team competitive. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone at Rutgers who actually thinks their school is on the level of Ohio State or Michigan. You know that when you take the job you are behind the eight ball, and that would make you start breaking every rule you thought you could get away with. There are so many instances of teams breaking rules in the NCAA that most coaches probably think they have no choice but to Break The Rules.
Rutgers is not a big name
Rutgers is not a name that will engender much confidence in a recruit. They know that they will not get on TV to play football, and they might not even realize that Rutgers is in New Jersey. Rutgers is a place you go to if you are from New Jersey or just want a good education. You do not go to this school to play sports.
So, your football coach is going to be desperate to do anything that he can do to remain relevant. His job is on the line the second he shows up on campus in New Brunswick, and that is why he would be tempted to break the rules.
Rutgers needs a new conference
Rutgers needs to be in a new conference, and they need to find a place that will be safer for their teams.
They will be a laughingstock forever, and they might run across a good coach who gives them one good year, gets a new job, and leaves the team in shambles. There are many reasons to give Rutgers a break when it comes to these allegations, and the NCAA must consider that their old coach now works for the Atlanta Falcons. Why punish kids stuck at a school with a subpar athletics program?
