In Athletic Director Zinn, Rutgers Fans May Have Found Santa
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Rutgers fans would be forgiven for ditching their festive Scarlet cheer, instead choosing to channel their inner Ebenezer Scrooge. After all, it’s been the fall of discontent on the banks, with the women's footballers missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 seasons, a late-season collapse by the men’s squad, a highly-touted field hockey squad that suffered one gut-punch after another against top-tier opponents, a volleyball team that despite their improved play, finished a non-competivve 3-17 in-conference, and finally a football team, that despite its historically bad defense, was one dropped snap away from beating Penn State for the first time since 1988.
As fall bleeds into winter, Rutgers currently has two basketball programs that are going nowhere fast, with both the men's and women's teams giving every indication, against early-season conference matchups, that they will not be able to compete with most of their conference foes. The men’s team has fallen so far that they find themselves favored in only one conference game at present - versus fellow cellar dweller Penn State.
The Ghost of Christmas Past announced itself loud and clear during the Penn State football game, as the Scarlet Knights were about to bring the hammer down on the Nittany Lions and end a decades-long curse. All quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis had to do was handle the snap and get the ball out to the uncovered tight-end Kenny Fletcher. No need to relive the play further, and the devastating loss that cost Rutgers a bowl bid.
The Ghost of Christmas Present reared its head shortly thereafter, prompting fans to curse the current NIL landscape and bemoan the likely loss of future NFL receivers KJ Duff and Ian Strong to a deep-pocket program. Throw in the Rutgers men’s squad being unable to compete against Purdue, Michigan, and hated in-state rival Seton Hall without a top-tier center and point guard, and fans were quickly reminded after football’s gut-punch end to the season that it’s only going to get worse.
KJ DUFF CATCH OF A LIFETIME WOW pic.twitter.com/CcW392lOEW
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) November 29, 2025
It’s darkest before the dawn.
One wonders, after her first fall on the job, if new Athletic Director Keli Zinn walks the halls of the Rutgers Athletic Center, channeling the phrase from English author Thomas Fuller, who coined the term in 1650.
Zinn helped run a championship-level operation at LSU. At Rutgers, she’s been handed a mining helmet with a headlamp and tasked with pulling with climbing into the dark abyss and pulling the athletic program back into daylight. That starts with NIL, which she clearly knows more than anyone.
During her inaugural press conference last August, Zinn was asked about fundraising and NIL, and, unlike her predecessor, Pat Hobbs, she addressed the issue head-on.
“It's absolutely a necessity and critical for our success, but also to do so in a way where the traditional fund-raising side of things and the ability to raise capital and support the university capital projects can both thrive together, and there's a balance to that. But I think it starts with people working really well together to identify what the goals and expectations are to do so, and then it's us getting out and getting after it to do so. You'll see us come together on that piece, and again, it's going to be a consistent focal point to raise our revenue to identify new revenue streams and to capitalize on those that already exist.”
Zinn’s quote was refereshing and welcomed in the lazy summer days of August and gave a beleaguered Rutgers fanbase hope, but turn the calendar to November, before the tears had dried up after the spectacular Penn State loss, and Scarlet Knights fans were already spiraling on message boards, bemoaning the inevitable losses of star receivers KJ Duff and Ian Strong, along with bruising running back Antwan Ryamond, to some deep-pocketed blueblood, and bemoaning the perpetual sorry state of Rutgers Athletics.
🔥 1,466 total yards
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) December 17, 2025
🔥 15 total TDs
Congratulations to @RFootball’s Antwan Raymond for winning the 2025 Jon Cornish Trophy 🏆 pic.twitter.com/QUvfGKp8X8
A Santa Spotting in Piscataway
Then this week, days before the Christmas holiday, the rumors started circulating. Duff and Strong will soon announce their return, followed shortly by Raymond. Richie O’Leary of The Knight Report added more holiday cheer when he hinted to listeners on his podcast this past Monday that good football news was indeed coming, and while nothing was official, Scarlet Knights fans would be joyous if his information is correct.
If Rutgers is somehow able to retain Duff, Strong, and Raymond with a competitive NIL offer, that would not only be a surprise but also downright miraculous. It would also keep the Ghost of Christmas Future tucked away in the attic. Yes, Piscataway, there may indeed be a Santa Claus, and her name is Keli Zinn.
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John Catapano graduated from Rutgers in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, covering the women’s field hockey and soccer teams for the campus paper, The Daily Targum. After college, he moved to Los Angeles, got a job at Walt Disney Television, and has worked in media ever since. John currently works with the Wasserman Media Group in their Brooklyn, NY office, collaborating with brands, influencers, and athletes across the globe. When the pandemic struck in 2020 and Catapano began working remotely, he resumed writing by contributing to a Rutgers fan blog. He covered various sports, highlighted human interest stories, and focused on topics that Scarlet Nation wanted to discuss. It’s never easy being a Rutgers fan, but with over 500,000 alumni living worldwide and a passionate fanbase, covering the Scarlet Knights is always engaging.