Whenever he was asked about whether he would ask Rutgers not to play football this fall, Gov. Phil Murphy was consistent in his opinion that it would be the Big Ten who made that decision.
‘I would think that (decision) would probably come from conferences more likely than it really would come from you,’ ‘Murphy said on July 23.
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That scenario happened on Tuesday, when Big Ten officials voted to postpone the 2020 college football season due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will be the first calendar year without football for Rutgers since 1871, when Theodore Fitz Randolph was governor of New Jersey and Ulysses S. Grant ran the country as president.
A day after the historic decision of the Big Ten, Murphy on Wednesday left disappointment for Rutgers’ nearly 300 football, soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross country athletes who will not be able to participate in games this fall.
“I’m not surprised,” Murphy said during his recent media briefing on coronavirus in Trenton. ‘My heart breaks for the young men and women who will not have this fall this season. They have opened up the possibility of playing these sports in the spring. But I’m not surprised, especially if you add the element of travel. It’s not just travel between Bergen County and Middlesex County. We are talking about travel on state lines and in some cases including states that have real challenges with it. ”
For weeks when it became clear the chances of a normal college football season were diminished, Murphy said he was in communication with Rutgers officials, including University President Jonathan Holloway, athletics director Pat Hobbs and Scarlet Knights coach Greg Schiano, about the problems who oppose the state university.
In June, Murphy gave the green light for Rutgers footballers to return for volunteer workouts, and he was aware of the program needed to stop activities in late July due to an outbreak of positive cases of coronavirus.
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Holloway said Wednesday that the athletes currently on campus will be fully supported, with the option to stay indoors to train this fall. Holloway also offered an optimistic view that the Big Ten could meet their stated goal of playing a college football season in the spring.
“Hopefully we get to the point where it’s not only a hope, but it’s a reality that those sports will be played in the spring,” Murphy said.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.
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Keith Sargeant is reachable [email protected].
