Rutgers University is reportedly expecting its new football coach to help meet his own facility demands.
School officials and Greg Schiano have gone back and forth over the state of the football program since the beginning of November. In order to come to an agreement, Schiano will be asked to raise a significant portion of funds for a football operations center and multi-sport practice facility, according to NJ.com.
"As Head Coach, you will aid and assist the Director in efforts to obtain private funding commitments to cover the final projected cost of said facilities," Schiano's new contract says, according to NJ.com.
Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs announced Sunday that he was hiring Schiano as the next head coach of the Scarlet Knights. The announcement came a week after Yahoo’s Pete Thamel reported that Rutgers couldn’t come to an agreement with Schiano, who went 68-67 as Rutgers’ head coach from 2001-2011.
The report caused boosters to pull their support as fans and former players expressed their displeasure toward Hobbs. The two sides eventually worked through it, as Rutgers’ Board of Governors is meeting Tuesday to vote on Schiano’s new contract, which wasn’t released prior to the meeting.
Rutgers’ coaching search began Sept. 29, when Chris Ash was fired after a three-plus year stretch that saw him compile an 8-32 record. The Scarlet Knights finished 2-10 this season, as they have lost 21 straight Big Ten Conference games since a Nov. 4, 2017 win over Maryland.
The 53-year-old Schiano, who was last the Ohio State defensive coordinator from 2016-2018, told officials in a Nov. 5 interview that Rutgers needed to increase staff salaries and upgrade facilities in order to compete in the Big Ten.
A deal was nearly in place, but Schiano pulled his name from consideration Nov. 24 after Rutgers reportedly wouldn’t commit to covering the entirety of the upgrades, which are expected to cost about $150 million. Rutgers is reportedly saying at least half that money will have to come from private sources, with Schiano and Hobbs working to bring in a significant portion.
Once the privately-funded portion hits 50%, the university agreed to begin the Board of Governors Finance and Facilities Committee approval process in order to start construction.
