Dems cut Rutgers budget, jump on football bandwagon

Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-18) has, in print, urged Rutgers University to fund six Olympic sports that are due to be eliminated in 2007 ("Rutgers University Board Should Continue Sports Teams," "Your Turn" guest column, Suburban, Dec. 29). This was done after the Democratic-controlled state Legislature reduced Rutgers support by $66 million.

It seems somewhat strange that Diegnan, a Seton Hall alumnus (bachelor of arts and juris doctor degrees), should suddenly be so pro-Rutgers. I wonder if this has anything to do with the Rutgers football team and its fabulous success this year.

The success of Rutgers football has had a pro-Rutgers epiphany for another New Jersey Democrat, Dick Codey, Senate president. Codey, formerly known as "Mr. Seton Hall," has been all over the Rutgers map for the past four months, including the recent Texas Bowl victory. At the Texas Bowl, Codey had with him the latest Rutgers "fan du jour," Gov. Jon Corzine, who was at the trophy presentation. This allowed him to be in the same picture as New Jersey's No. 1 citizen, Greg Schiano.

Diegnan, Codey and Corzine have eviscerated the Rutgers budget at the same time that they are trying to bask in the glory that is the Rutgers football program. For their cheap political theatrics, these three Democrats owe the Rutgers athletic program. What do they owe? $400,000. This is the amount that will be needed to keep the six Olympic sports in competition.

Diegnan, a lawyer, and Codey, an insurance broker, might have the $400,000 but probably don't want to spend it. Corzine has the $400,000 and then some. One financial report has the governor earning $24 million per year through investment income. Corzine could simply take 33 percent of this year's income ($8 million) and establish an endowment for the Rutgers athletic program. Approximately $8 million at 7 percent will provide the athletic department with an annual income of $560,000, which is more than enough.

Harold V. Kane

Monroe