9/3/2026

Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football (Big Ten) @ SHI Stadium (Piscataway, NJ)

I FINALLY watch the signature sport of my (kinda sorta technically) alma mater

It's been a while since I've had a post with a header image hasn't it? Also, in posting this, I realized that I have not one, but TWO catch-up posts I never published, so...whoops!

I've been to Rutgers quite a few times for a HOST of sports: lacrosse, basketball (twice), and even two different sports at the same time - but now it's time to talk about their "main" sport.

I won't go over the ENTIRE history of the Rutgers football program, but for those unaware: Rutgers famously hosted the first college football game in 1869 and claims the national title from that year (i.e. the first national title EVER in college football). Since then...the program hasn't done much. Sure, there was that one time they upset Louisville back in 2006, but outside of that, I can't think of a singular notable thing Rutgers football is known for (save for maybe Eric LeGrand).

This lack of accomplishment has been amplified with the school moving to the Big Ten back when I was (kinda sorta) a student¹, where every season seems to play out the same way: start by beat weaker out-of-conference foes, then have everything come crashing down against the conference's national powerhouses before petering out into MAYBE a bowl appearance (though football isn't the only sport where this seems to happen - I won't elaborate for now). This game - the team's first game and home opener for 2026 - falls VERY MUCH into that first category, as it's against one of the few D-I programs that could actually make Rutgers look like a powerhouse: the University of Massachusetts (Amherst).

As an alum, you'd think I would have at least tried to go to a football game once or twice, but I haven't². One of the big reasons: parking. As you'd expect for power conference football, it's not cheap - and even though there's a local park and a church with decent parking nearby, THEY'RE not much "relief" either (and the park is now apparently "not an option"). In the end, however, I ended up opting to park at a nearby church despite it being WELL more than what I paid for the ticket (more on THAT in a sec BTW). I've been to the stadium before (hence the "NEW TEAM" badge), but it HAS been quite a while since that last visit (and the stadium was only partially open then), so I think a "reintroduction" is in order.

Opened in 1994 as a replacement for another stadium built on the same site, what is now SHI stadium (obviously) hosts football and lacrosse as well as the annual commencement ceremony for Rutgers (New Brunswick)³. Most of the seats here are in a singular bowl save for each sideline having a second deck, but outside of that, the stadium is a little...basic - though to be fair, when it was built Rutgers was in the Big East - a conference which is now basketball-only (and even back then had a WAY smaller profile in football). I did take a peek at the concourses for the upper sections, but it seems that they lack concession stands. Outside of that, it is worth mentioning that the south endzone used to be fairly smallish, but a 2009 renovation added seats and "completed" the concourse so that it wraps fully around the stadium (there's a "lower walkway" about ten rows up a la places like nearby TD Bank Ballpark, but it's cut off by the new seats).

One thing outside the stadium (literally) worth mentioning: the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk at Rutgers is a fan festival outside the stadium which, in essence, serves as the school's official "tailgate". In a way, it functions similarly to the Winter Village, though it was MUCH bigger and featured several food trucks as well as a ferris wheel and a carnival game. I would say that while a lot of it, I think it definitely (and seemingly does not require a ticket - just a way to get to it on gameday).

Inside the stadium, one of the big things that separates college sports from the pros is atmosphere, and football is widely regarded as the biggest example of that college atmosphere. Before the game and at halftime, the school's marching band performs, and I must say: while Princeton does a lot of the same things, the impact the Rutgers band had on the pregame and halftime shows was WAY more impressive largely due to just how much bigger Rutgers' band is. In fact, there were multiple things going on during halftime: the band, dancers, cheerleaders, and which made the whole thing kinda hard to follow.

Oh right, the game. Like I mentioned earlier, I got lucky on SeatGeek and had this view for an INSANE percentage (read: WELL over 50%) of face value:

It would've been the MOST Rutgers thing imaginable to see them lose to a team widely regarded as the worst in the country by a country mile (having gone completely winless last year AND being dead last in several statistical categories). Of course, Rutgers is a Power Conference school with a well known coach, so it's not like they're going to pull a Days of our Steelers⁴ and play down to their competition-

*insert "Vine boom" sound

It is worth noting that the head coach for UMass was Rutgers' defensive coordinator before taking the UMass job last year, so in essence, Rutgers got "Bill Belichick against one of his former coordinators...'d"⁵.

MERCH

My last "non catch-up" post on this blog involved football, but if you missed it: I'm not that into football items. Having said that, however, I do have a SUPER old Rutgers football jersey I got at a TJMaxx or Marshalls WAY back when (as in it's probably older than some of the kids attending Rutgers now), but the number on it...is a bit controversial (it's one of the school's biggest NFL stars, but he's partially remembered for that one night in Atlantic City).

That aside, there were a fair amount of merchandise areas inside the stadium...but not much of interest outside of mini helmets (though I don't really have a place for one). The "main" store had fitted hats that were labeled as "baseball hats", but I looked at the baseball team's Instagram and they looked just different enough to the point where I'm fairly sure they're NOT the same.

ON DECK

The first song that played immediately after the game ended was "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan. There's a line within that song that I do kinda resonate with...and I'm going to kinda sorta discuss it tomorrow (though I've actually talked about it before on this very blog).