[Dane96]

No.....this is not meant to say that they are going D-1 or joining AE anytime soon (if ever).......but they should definitely be on the radar ala UMass-Lowell during the next decade.

Gotcha...and makes sense. Would be a nice rode trip.

 

[bosiydid]

ccd994

NJIT arena construction begins in the late summer or early fall 2015.Thats 5 months from now.

Also Hartford has 14 sports,Umass Lowell has 16 sports.NJIT has 17 sports.NJIT certainly does not need to have 20 sports to join the AE.

How, has the funding been secured?

 

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

ccd994

NJIT arena construction begins in the late summer or early fall 2015.Thats 5 months from now.

Also Hartford has 14 sports,Umass Lowell has 16 sports.NJIT has 17 sports.NJIT certainly does not need to have 20 sports to join the AE.

I went to the UNH game at NJIT on Monday night. Lundholm and Patrick are Taj Mahals in comparison to that band box where the game was played. Their arena certainly deserves to be called "high school". I can see why a new arena is a per-requisite for consideration by AE and other D-I leagues.

And I don't know how location isn't a factor. OMG, I felt safer in downtown Detroit when I traveled there for a UNH football game at Toledo this past September than I did Monday in downtown Newark!! Had a couple of restaurants scoped out, but when I saw them my feeling was that I wasn't parking my car then walking to them! And I was pretty close to the Prudential Center. I'm not some country bumpkin that goes into a city once every couple of years, I've lived in Hartford most of my life. I've been to BU, NU, PC, Drexel, Morgan State, Howard, Temple, etc. and haven't felt as unsafe. I go into Detroit, Baltimore, DC, etc. Nor did I see the police presence at these places that I saw on Monday night. And for a game with only a 1K crowd to boot. A campus cop/security guard on Lock Street outside the gym, a Newark police cruiser parked at the beginning of New Street and another campus cop/security guard at the parking lot on New Street about a half block up from Lock. A parking lot with a high fence all the way around with only one point of egress, the driving entrance. Oh yeah, then there was the other campus cop parked out at the corner of Lock and Central Ave every time I drove by. Believe me, I was very grateful to see them!! And I guess there is a real need for them. Never been so happy to be on the NJ Turnpike as I was after that game and visit!!

I've been pretty open minded about adding NJIT. Visiting sure didn't win me over. It does plug a hole in a geographic gap, as an Institute of Technology I assume it has good academics, but being in Metro NYC doesn't bring anything media wise (thinking about Fordham, SFNY, LIU-Brooklyn, Wagner, St. Peter's, etc.) and the campus felt more NEC than AE to me. JMHO, but if a New Jersey presence is desired, I'd go after Monmouth or Rider before NJIT.

 

[WWII]

I get all that...but I don't think it has to affect a program like Albany. Look at Butler. They were in the Horizon League and managed to get all the way to the national championship. There were and are some crappy teams in that league as well. They were affiliated with Wright State, Youngstown State, Detroit, Illinois-Chicago, etc but that didn't hurt them just like I don't think being in the AEast hurts Albany.

There are crappy teams in every conference in reality.

IMO, Albany's program isn't defined based upon their conference affiliation but rather the success it has achieved.

Very much agree. Do you think Gonzaga worried about the bottom of the WCC? They worry about Gonzaga! Same with the other examples. Drag the others up, don't worry about the bottom dragging you down! There's a bottom in every league, which fans whine about. Just strive not to be in it!

 

[njitfan1]

The funding for the "Events and Wellness Center" at NJIT was just approved by the Board of Trustees today. http://www.njit.edu/about/boards/trustees/pdf/2015/2015-03-18-public-session-document.pdf (page 5)

Also, NJIT has retained AECOM to do the architectural and engineering work. An RFP was issued several months ago with I believe 12 architectural/engineering/construction firms bidding. AECOM was selected and has been on campus several times to meet with coaches, admins, and students/faculty.

They expect to break ground in the Fall with completion by Summer 2017. This is happening. It is not just a plan with a few cool images.

 

[ccd494]

UNE is not un-like Quinnipiac in their willingness to expand to raise their profile. As is, they have the state's only medical and dental schools. And with USM and UMaine both living on the front pages of the state's newspapers for being broke and cutting programs, UNE and its price tag looks better and better.

 

[bosiydid]

The funding for the "Events and Wellness Center" at NJIT was just approved by the Board of Trustees today. http://www.njit.edu/about/boards/trustees/pdf/2015/2015-03-18-public-session-document.pdf (page 5)

Also, NJIT has retained AECOM to do the architectural and engineering work. An RFP was issued several months ago with I believe 12 architectural/engineering/construction firms bidding. AECOM was selected and has been on campus several times to meet with coaches, admins, and students/faculty.

They expect to break ground in the Fall with completion by Summer 2017. This is happening. It is not just a plan with a few cool images.

Just read that section, I'm no lawyer but it looks like it's happening. Good on NJIT. Are there drawings of the facility at all?

 

[njitfan1]

I went to the UNH game at NJIT on Monday night. Lundholm and Patrick are Taj Mahals in comparison to that band box where the game was played. Their arena certainly deserves to be called "high school". I can see why a new arena is a per-requisite for consideration by AE and other D-I leagues.

And I don't know how location isn't a factor. OMG, I felt safer in downtown Detroit when I traveled there for a UNH football game at Toledo this past September than I did Monday in downtown Newark!! Had a couple of restaurants scoped out, but when I saw them my feeling was that I wasn't parking my car then walking to them! And I was pretty close to the Prudential Center. I'm not some country bumpkin that goes into a city once every couple of years, I've lived in Hartford most of my life. I've been to BU, NU, PC, Drexel, Morgan State, Howard, Temple, etc. and haven't felt as unsafe. I go into Detroit, Baltimore, DC, etc. Nor did I see the police presence at these places that I saw on Monday night. And for a game with only a 1K crowd to boot. A campus cop/security guard on Lock Street outside the gym, a Newark police cruiser parked at the beginning of New Street and another campus cop/security guard at the parking lot on New Street about a half block up from Lock. A parking lot with a high fence all the way around with only one point of egress, the driving entrance. Oh yeah, then there was the other campus cop parked out at the corner of Lock and Central Ave every time I drove by. Believe me, I was very grateful to see them!! And I guess there is a real need for them. Never been so happy to be on the NJ Turnpike as I was after that game and visit!!

I've been pretty open minded about adding NJIT. Visiting sure didn't win me over. It does plug a hole in a geographic gap, as an Institute of Technology I assume it has good academics, but being in Metro NYC doesn't bring anything media wise (thinking about Fordham, SFNY, LIU-Brooklyn, Wagner, St. Peter's, etc.) and the campus felt more NEC than AE to me. JMHO, but if a New Jersey presence is desired, I'd go after Monmouth or Rider before NJIT.

Must not have been that bad considering the CIT offered NJIT a round 2 home game. The campus was didn't have many students or people around because it was the middle of Spring Break for both NJIT and Rutgers.

Newark can be a bit hairy, you just have to put on your big boy paints and check out the places that are worth while.

 

[ccd494]

Also Hartford has 14 sports,Umass Lowell has 16 sports.NJIT has 17 sports.NJIT certainly does not need to have 20 sports to join the AE.

Great news on the arena. A good fit for the league when it gets built.

On the sports- of your 17, three aren't offered by AE (M&W fencing, M volleyball). So that's 14 that matter to us. Does AE sponsor tennis anymore?

 

[bosiydid]

Must not have been that bad considering the CIT offered NJIT a round 2 home game. The campus was didn't have many students or people around because it was the middle of Spring Break for both NJIT and Rutgers.

Newark can be a bit hairy, you just have to put on your big boy paints and check out the places that are worth while.

LOL, never something you want to hear visiting a city. It can gety hairy so put on your big boy pants...wow

 

[njitfan1]

Just read that section, I'm no lawyer but it looks like it's happening. Good on NJIT. Are there drawings of the facility at all?

They have been coming out slowly. More details will probably come out in April. Here are a few I've found.

 

[njitfan1]

Just read that section, I'm no lawyer but it looks like it's happening. Good on NJIT. Are there drawings of the facility at all?

LOL, never something you want to hear visiting a city. It can gety hairy so put on your big boy pants...wow

Very true LOL! Trust me when I went to NJIT in 2005 Newark was sooooo much worse than what it is now. It has come a long long way, but still has a long way to go. University Heights is not a bad area, it is just still going through gentrification. A new biotechnology firm is building a new HQ a block up New Street and supposedly other developments are proposed for a few other lots in the Science District to fill in the gaps. Newark has a college student population of 50,000, making it the largest college town in the state.

I hope that with the new Wellness Center and other improvements the AE sees the value of adding NJIT to its conference. I totally understand that the school has made sooo many mistakes when it went DI but I think many of them have been righted and our student athletes deserve a conference to play in. We are competitive in all the sports offered and now have plans to make use a sought after mid-major. Besides adding more womens sports (which is soooo pointless since so many other schools have a problem fielding mens sports bc of Title 9 and we are able to) what is the AE waiting for????

 

[njitfan1]

Great news on the arena. A good fit for the league when it gets built.

On the sports- of your 17, three aren't offered by AE (M&W fencing, M volleyball). So that's 14 that matter to us. Does AE sponsor tennis anymore?

AE sponsors W tennis which we are an AE associate member in and stopped sponsoring M tennis in 2014. I could see NJIT maybe adding W Swimming or Field Hockey but are the number of womens sports really that important. We offer most if not all of your core sports and added Lacrosse this past year. We are a tech school with a reverse gender ratio allowing us to offer more mens sports than womens bc of Title 9. Thats something we shouldnt be penalized for since so many mens sports are being cut around the country.

 

[charliemike]

AE sponsors W tennis which we are an AE associate member in and stopped sponsoring M tennis in 2014. I could see NJIT maybe adding W Swimming or Field Hockey but are the number of women's sports really that important. We offer most if not all of your core sports and added Lacrosse this past year. We are a tech school with a reverse gender ratio allowing us to offer more men's sports than women's bc of Title 9. Thats something we shouldn't be penalized for since so many men's sports are being cut around the country.

I think you have to be a full member of a percentage of men's and women's sports. If you don't have the requisite number of women's sports then the AE is not going to entertain NJIT's application.

 

[SenorWolfie]

Well the arguments here are very persuasive. Are we ready to take a vote? Oh wait, the users of this board aren't the people that need convincing?

 

[njitfan1]

I think you have to be a full member of a percentage of men's and women's sports. If you don't have the requisite number of women's sports then the AE is not going to entertain NJIT's application.

So if we added W Swimming and/or Field Hockey we would have 8 or 9 of womens core sports which is similar to Vermont, UMassLowell, Stony Brook, UNH, Maine, and Hartford. We offer all 7 of the men's sports unlike Maine, UNH and Vermont.

 

[Dane96]

The funding for the "Events and Wellness Center" at NJIT was just approved by the Board of Trustees today. http://www.njit.edu/about/boards/trustees/pdf/2015/2015-03-18-public-session-document.pdf (page 5)

Also, NJIT has retained AECOM to do the architectural and engineering work. An RFP was issued several months ago with I believe 12 architectural/engineering/construction firms bidding. AECOM was selected and has been on campus several times to meet with coaches, admins, and students/faculty.

They expect to break ground in the Fall with completion by Summer 2017. This is happening. It is not just a plan with a few cool images.

This is the first REAL information I've seen on the subject. AECOM is a great group to work with, with NE experience.

Congrats...this is a difference maker. Engle and the boys have earned this...

 

[Dane96]

They have been coming out slowly. More details will probably come out in April. Here are a few I've found.

I've come across these as well...from last week...but nothing about the Arena.
If I remember correctly, AECOM designed Barclay's Arena...and they did a ton with little space. They also did Maryland's new place...which is very similar in design to Barclay's.

My guess, it looks something like Quinnipiac.

http://njitvector.com/2015/03/new-renderings-show-interior-of-new-center-to-be-open-in-fall-of-2017/

 

[Dane96]

I hope that with the new Wellness Center and other improvements the AE sees the value of adding NJIT to its conference. I totally understand that the school has made sooo many mistakes when it went DI but I think many of them have been righted and our student athletes deserve a conference to play in. We are competitive in all the sports offered and now have plans to make use a sought after mid-major. Besides adding more womens sports (which is soooo pointless since so many other schools have a problem fielding mens sports bc of Title 9 and we are able to) what is the AE waiting for????

This. If NJIT keeps moving forward, I'd support them...without question.

 

[njitfan1]

I've come across these as well...from last week...but nothing about the Arena.
If I remember correctly, AECOM designed Barclay's Arena...and they did a ton with little space. They also did Maryland's new place...which is very similar in design to Barclay's.

My guess, it looks something like Quinnipiac.

http://njitvector.com/2015/03/new-renderings-show-interior-of-new-center-to-be-open-in-fall-of-2017/

I've seen the arena rendering but it hasn't been released yet. Yes I think you are right in being similar to Quinipiac. Except they are planning on having suites in the upper tier and more windows than Quinipiac.