Rutgers-Camden coach Jason Curbison, a Philly guy, from Mount Airy, in his second season as coach, used to be Joe Cassidy's assistant at Rowan, and they talk frequently. They were together in Cassidy's office before the game. They just don't know if they'll be collaborating again in the future.
"They had more specific questions about their athletic futures," Curbison said of what his players have been asking. "They want to know, are we going to be one campus, one team? . . . How is it going to play out? And we don't know."
At Rowan, Cassidy said, "our administration is backing the idea. So the thought is, let's get it done. We don't know how we're going to do it, but this could be really good for the university - become a research institution. It could be good for the faculty, for everybody. That's the attitude they're taking. I'll go with it."
Cassidy said that on the recruiting trail, "the people I've talked to say, this could be great. But nobody knows exactly what this is going to be. Recruiting, I'm getting a positive vibe. . . . If we become the University of South Jersey or Rowan University of South Jersey, it could give us a more identifiable name. . . . Already, when I'm recruiting, I say, we are South Jersey's college. All our players are from South Jersey."
If the merger happens, there is even talk, no matter how far-fetched (given the dollars involved) of looking at a move up to Division I. An expensive move, with estimates as high as $300 million.
Whatever the future, everyone here assumes these two schools will be playing each other again next year, that even if the merger happens, it wouldn't be immediate. But there isn't a master athletic plan shared with anybody on either campus.
"I try to not think about it," said Rutgers-Camden sophomore point guard Woody Redding. "I'm going to keep our faith in our school and our administrators and hopefully they make the best decision, whether we merge with Rowan or we stay Rutgers. I would like to stay Rutgers because that's what I enrolled in, but if not, it would not affect me in a negative way. I'm going to stay positive about it."
Record. Woody Redding, from North Catholic, set a single-season Rutgers-Camden assist record, with 156, breaking a mark that had stood for almost two decades, set by Dan McClain (153 assists) in 1992-93.
Contact staff writer Mike Jensen at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com or @Jensenoffcampus on Twitter. Read his "Off Campus'' columns at www.philly.com/offcampus.
