Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs says the tailgate party might not be over after all.
He had apologized this week after a video of him drinking a beer at Rutgers' school-sponsored tailgate party surfaced, and the event was shut down. But he issued an open letter to students on Wednesday saying that the school is searching for an alternative to shutting down "The Alley."
"The Alley came about as a result of many conversations with student leaders and your desire to have a designated tailgate area where you could come early to the Busch Campus and be with your fellow students,'' Hobbs said. "Its popularity exceeded everyone's expectations. Yesterday, due to concerns about our ability to ensure student safety, we made the decision that The Alley could not continue to be used as an area for student tailgating. There are concerns with the capacity of the space, the availability of services and alcohol consumption. It's our duty to ensure a safe and fun environment for you, and I know you understand that.
"After meeting this morning, Athletics, Student Affairs and Public Safety have agreed to work together to see if we can find a way to make modifications to The Alley or find an alternative site which will address the concerns. We will, of course, work with student leadership to see how this might be accomplished.''
The school announced the opening of the new student tailgating event in late August. On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights hosted New Mexico and the tailgate was in full swing at its home close to the stadium. Hobbs told NJ Advance Media that he arrived as Rutgers police were issuing tickets. Hobbs said he felt the event was out of control, so he climbed a riser and began addressing the crowd, praising Rutgers police while asking people to cheer on the police.
"My first concern is always for the safety and well-being of our students,'' Hobbs told NJ Advance Media. "Anyone who was at the [student tailgate] Saturday knows that I was acting to ensure that.''
A video released by New Brunswick Today shows Hobbs being handed a beer from someone in the crowd around that time. Hobbs said, "No, I can't drink that right now." The crowd started chanting for Hobbs to drink, and he laughed, saying, "I am of age. If they card me, I'm OK. All right, go RU." Hobbs appears to be drinking as the video ends.
Hobbs told NJ Advance Media that picking up the beer was "a mistake.''
Rutgers Athletics' Twitter account tweeted on Tuesday, "Regrettably, due to safety concerns, The Alley is no longer available for student tailgating."
Rutgers University Police chief Kenneth Cop told NJ Advance Media that the tailgate was relatively calm on Saturday. Two citations per person were given to four people before the noon ET kickoff.