Rutgers Finishes Last Big Ten 2024-25 Directors Cup with Disappointing Season

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights faced a challenging 2024-2025 athletic year, with the football team striving for a third consecutive bowl season amid one of the nation's toughest schedules, including tough matchups against Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State. Despite returning experienced players, analysts like Phil Steele and CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli predict a difficult Big Ten season for Rutgers, with concerns over offensive regression and defensive inconsistencies possibly leading to a winless conference record. The football team ended the 2024 season with a 7-6 record but lost the Rate Bowl after blowing a double-digit lead. Beyond football, Rutgers athletics as a whole underperformed, finishing last among Big Ten schools at No. 80 in the 2025 Learfield Director's Cup standings, a measure of overall athletic success across NCAA sports. The men’s basketball team notably struggled, finishing 15-17 and missing the NCAA Tournament despite featuring two top-five NBA Draft picks, while only three of the 14 sponsored sports qualified for NCAA competition. With Rutgers still searching for a new athletic director, significant effort will be needed to rebuild competitiveness across all sports programs.