A video showing Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs drinking a beer at the tailgate emerged Tuesday, and Hobbs found himself in the awkward position of apologizing for drinking that beer. But in the wake of the incident, which was caught on camera, the event has been shut down.
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Rutgers launched a new, school-sponsored tailgate party for the 2016 season called “The Alley”. On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights hosted New Mexico and the tailgate was in full swing at its home close to the stadium. According to NJ.com, the first tailgate on September 10 drew 500 to 800 students but that number grew to around 3,000 before Saturday’s game, causing Hobbs to worry that things were getting out of control even though Rutgers police said they issued citations to only four people that day.
Seconds later, with a microphone in one hand and a can of beer in the other, Hobbs told the cheering students, “I am of age!”
“My first concern is always for the safety and well-being of our students, ” Hobbs told the news outlet. “Anyone who was at the [student tailgate] Saturday knows that I was acting to ensure that”. While speaking to students, Hobbs took a beer from the crowd and drank it. “If they card me, it’s OK”. “Go RU!” Hobbs says as he takes a drink.
Shortly thereafter in the video, Hobbs again was offered a can.
“Hold on”, Hobbs said as he cracked open the can.
“Regrettably, due to safety concerns, The Alley is no longer available for student tailgating”, Rutgers tweeted.
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The chief of Rutgers University Police said the environment was rather calm and his department ended up only issuing two citations. While Rutgers distributes 10,000 free tickets to students for each game, student attendance has been up and down through the years and 12 p.m. start-times are considered more of a deterrent for student turnout (Rutgers’ first four games are all noon kickoffs).
