May 08, 2010, 11:00PM
Steve Hockstein/For The Star-LedgerUnder longtime head coach Fred Hill Sr., the Scarlet Knights baseball team made the NCAA Tournament four times last decade.Football, of course, provides the impetus for any conference realignment. In men's basketball, coaches will lose the built-in recruiting tool of playing near home during conference play and then at Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament. But what about the rest of the sports? Here's a look at the potential future of the non-revenue sports at Rutgers if it joins the Big Ten:BASEBALL
Now: Under longtime head coach Fred Hill Sr., the Scarlet Knights made the NCAA Tournament four times last decade. The Big East Conference's national clout was hurt by the defection of Miami in 2004. The last conference team to make the College World Series was Louisville in 2007.
After: Rutgers could emerge as the class of the conference. You find the best baseball either down South or out West. The power conferences are the ACC, Pac-10 and SEC. A Big 10 team has not made the CWS since Michigan in 1984.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Now: At the Big East championships in October, Rutgers finished 12th out of 14 teams. Syracuse won the Big East title and finished 14th at nationals. Four other Big East schools made the Top 25.
After: The conferences are similar. Wisconsin won the conference title and took seventh at nationals. Two other schools made the Top 25.
MEN'S GOLF
Now: The Scarlet Knights have made the NCAA Tournament twice since 1983. No Big East school has ever won the NCAA Championship.
After: Minnesota won the national title in 2002. Luke Donald won the individual championship for Northwestern in 1999.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Now: After years of negotiating and posturing, the Big East lacrosse league began play this season. Rutgers sits in the middle of the pack, a notch lower than national powerhouse Syracuse.
After: There is no Big Ten lacrosse. The Scarlet Knights would either have to rejoin a conference like the ECAC, play as an independent, or hope schools like Michigan add the sport — and Syracuse will agree to join another conference.
COMPLETE STAR-LEDGER COVERAGE OF POSSIBLE BIG TEN EXPANSION:
MEN'S SOCCER
Now: Since 2000, the Scarlet Knights have had four winning seasons. They finished 14th in the conference last season. Five Big East teams made the NCAAs this season. Connecticut has two national titles and St. John's one.
After: Five Big Ten teams made the tournament field in 2009. Indiana earned its 34th consecutive berth. The Hoosiers have won seven national titles.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
Now: The coach, Mike Mulqueen, also oversees men's cross country. The team won two individual titles in outdoor track last year and two more in indoor track. At the indoor championships this year, no Big East teams finished in the Top 10.
After: There's plenty of fluctuation. At the 2009 outdoor championships, no Big Ten teams finished in the Top 30. At the 2010 indoor championships, two Big Ten teams reached the Top 10.
WRESTLING
Now: The Scarlet Knights are competitive in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, a league of mostly private schools like Bucknell, Franklin and Marshall and Princeton. Rutgers sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament this winter.
After: The Big Ten and the Big 12 rule the collegiate mats. Iowa won its third straight team title this year. Six Big Ten wrestlers won national titles.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Now: After rising to the sport's summit a few years ago, Rutgers is battling to maintain its foothold. Connecticut is the nation's juggernaut, St. John's could be a Top 10 team next year. It's a deep, difficult league.
After: Recruiting the Tri-State area might be tougher, with the Scarlet Knights losing games against nearby opponents. But C. Vivian Stringer dominated the Big Ten once.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Now: At last year's Big East championships, the Scarlet Knights finished 13th out of 16 teams. Villanova won the national title. West Virginia finished sixth.
After: Illinois' Angela Bizzarri, won the individual title last year. The teams in the Big Ten could not match her pace: Only one (Minnesota) cracked the Top 10.
WOMEN'S GOLF
Now: Maura Ballard coaches the men's and women's teams. The Scarlet Knights finished last in 2009's conference championship.
After: Neither the Big Ten nor the Big East shines on the links. But Purdue's Maria Hernandez won the national title last year.
FIELD HOCKEY
Now: After winning 14 games in 2008, the Scarlet Knights backslid last season. They dropped 10 straight to start and finished with just two victories. Before 2008, Rutgers had not experienced a winning season since 1999.
After: The ACC dominates. Three of their teams — Maryland, North Carolina and Wake Forest — have taken the past eight NCAA titles. Before that? Michigan in 2001. Three Big Ten teams made the Tournament last year.
WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
Now: Much like wrestling, there is no Big East gymnastics, so Rutgers helped form the East Atlantic Gymnastics League in 1995. The Scarlet Knights have never won the conference title.
After: There are seven Big Ten gymnastics teams and all seven made the NCAA Regionals this year. One, Michigan, made the Nationals round of 12. No EAGL team did that.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Now: The Scarlet Knights began Big East play in 2001. They posted a winning conference record once (and went 3-3 twice). Rutgers has been excellent out of conference this year, angling for a tournament berth.
After: Northwestern built a dynasty — five straight national titles — in the American Lacrosse Conference. There is no Big Ten league, but with Rutgers and a few potential others, one could be formed.
WOMEN'S ROWING
Now: Rutgers competes for the Big East, while also owning membership to the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges. The program began competing at the varsity level in 1977.
After: The Big Ten sent four teams to the NCAAs last year. Stanford won.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Now: Here's a non-revenue sport where the Scarlet Knights have shined. They've had just one losing season since 2000. Head coach Glen Crooks has led them to five NCAA bids. For the Big East, Notre Dame reached the national title game in 2006 and 2008.
After: Despite the brutal fall temperatures that might scare away recruits, the Big Ten manages to field competitive programs. Although no one is close to toppling perpetual champ North Carolina, five Big Ten schools did make the postseason tournament in 2009.
SOFTBALL
Now: Right now, the Scarlet Knights sit last in the conference. They are on pace for their 10th consecutive season below .500. But at least it's better than 2005, when the team went 5-43.
After: The Big Ten drought here isn't as extended as the baseball drought is. Michigan won the national title in 2005. Northwestern was the runner-up in 2006. No Big East team owns a title.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Now: The university cut the men's team following the 2006-2007 season. The cut coincided with one of the best women's seasons in school history. Rutgers sent one swimmer to the NCAAs in 2009.
After: It's not like the conditions change: A pool is a pool. Five Big Ten teams placed in the Top 25 at last year's tournament.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Now: No Big East school has ever won a national title. No Big East player has ever won a singles title. Rutgers placed a player on the all-conference team in both 2008 and 2009.
After: The Big Ten isn't much better. No team titles or singles titles — a pair from Northwestern won the doubles title in 2006.
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
Now: Since 1996, Rutgers' best finish in the indoor conference championships was seventh. Outdoor was better: They took fourth once.
After: Indoor? Outdoor? It doesn't really matter. Much like the Big East, the Big Ten can't hang with the likes of the Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC.
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Now: Rutgers finished 13th in the division this year but won 10 games in the process. From 2006 to 2009, it won 10 games total. The conference champion, Notre Dame, lost in the first round of the NCAAs in 2009.
After: It's all about the Nittany Lions. Penn State captured its third straight national title last year. Coach Russ Rose built a powerhouse there, with 102 consecutive victories and 29 straight tournament bids.
Andy McCullough may be reached at amccullough@starledger.com
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