Rutgers Scarlet Knights football The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers , the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) play . Since the 1991 season , Rutgers has competed within the Big East Conference , having finally abandoned the status of an Independent team . The Rutgers football program is one of the most historic in the nation . In 1869 , the original Rutgers football team defeated Princeton University in the first intercollegiate game ever played . Rutgers won the game by a score of 6 to 4 . Today , Rutgers is coached by Greg Schiano who has overseen a revival of the program . Schiano ' s teams struggled for the first four years of his tenure , until 2005 , when Rutgers achieved its first winning record in more than a decade . Since 2001 , the Scarlet Knights have compiled a 59 – 56 record . History . Throughout its history , Rutgers has been known for putting dominating football teams on the field . It has fielded 52 ranked teams throughout its school history . In 1869 , when Rutgers and Princeton met for the inaugural intercollegiate football game , they were the only two teams playing . Rutgers won the first game with a score of six " runs " to Princeton ' s four , on November 6 , 1869 . However , Princeton was victorious in the next game , played the following week , with a score of eight to zero . A planned third game , scheduled November 29 , 1869 , did not occur as the faculties of both schools presumably thought that the game would interfere with the studies of the respective school ' s student bodies . Other sources claim that it may have been cancelled due to disagreement over what set of rules to play under . In spite of the fact that there were only two teams playing " football " at the time , both showing 1 – 1 records , Princeton and Rutgers have been regarded as having shared the 1869 national championship . From 1929 to 1975 , Rutgers was a member of the Middle Three Conference , which consisted of a round - robin against Lafayette College and Lehigh University . Starting in 1940 , the ' conference champion ' received the Little Brass Cannon . Following Lehigh ' s capture of the Little Brass Cannon in 1951 , Rutgers became an independent team in 1952 , though it still played Lafayette and continued the Middle Three round - robin in 1953 . Although Rutgers continued to be a part of the Middle Three until 1975 , the Scarlet Knights became a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference from 1958 to 1961 . The college won the conference championship in three of those four years ( 1958 , 1960 , and 1961 ) and was awarded the Wilmington Touchdown Club Trophy . The 1961 season was particularly remarkable as it was the Scarlet Knights ' first undefeated season ( 9 – 0 ) — with Alabama , one of only two undefeated teams in the nation — and the team was captained by future college football hall - of - famer Alex Kroll . In 1961 , Rutgers was considered a contender for the Rose Bowl , but was not selected because university president Mason Welch Gross did not express interest with the Rose Bowl ' s organizers . The following year , Rutgers once again went independent , and remained so until it joined the Big East Conference in 1991 . In 1976 , Rutgers declined an invitation to play an unranked McNeese State University at the Independence Bowl , feeling snubbed by more prestigious bowls despite its undefeated 11 – 0 season . Greg Schiano took over as head coach for the 2001 season . His first four years resulted in losing seasons , however , in 2005 , the team achieved its first winning season since 1992 . In 2006 , the Scarlet Knights achieved a record of 11 – 2 , including a first - ever postseason victory . In the following year , Rutgers received its first ever preseason rank . Since that break - out year in 2005 , Rutgers under Schiano achieved a winning season in five consecutive years . The streak ended in 2010 , a year marred by a spinal cord injury suffered by defensive lineman Eric LeGrand in the sixth game of the season . Rutgers lost its final six games to finish with a record of 4 - 8 . The Scarlet Knights have had three players drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft . In 2010 , Anthony Davis was chosen No . 11 overall by the San Francisco 49ers , and Devin McCourty was chosen No . 27 overall by the New England Patriots . In 2009 , Kenny Britt was chosen No . 30 overall by the Tennessee Titans . Britt , an Associated Press All - America selection , is the first player in Rutgers history to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft . Ten Scarlet Knights have been drafted in the last three years . 2010 also marked the fourth consecutive year that a Scarlet Knight has been taken on the draft ’ s first day after Brian Leonard ( 2007 ) and Ray Rice ( 2008 ) were both second round draft selections . Logos and uniforms . Black jerseys and pants were worn only in the 2007 season , and have not been a part of the team ' s uniform combinations since . Although black pants were worn on a couple of occasions with white jerseys on the road , the black jerseys ( with black pants ) were worn one time in 2007 . They were worn on October 27 , 2007 at Rutgers Stadium versus West Virginia in a torrential rain storm during a 31 - 3 loss . Bowl game results . Rutgers has gone to six bowl games in its 140 - year history in college football of which it has won four . This includes consecutive bowls for the last five years , and consecutive wins for the last four . Head coaches . Twenty - five men have served as head coach of the Rutgers football team since 1891 , when the first coach was hired . From 1869 to 1890 , and 1892 to 1894 , there was no coach . Local media coverage . Rutgers has a contract with SportsNet New York to air various football - related programming during the season . This includes games broadcast by the Big East Network , which formerly aired over local television . Football games air on the Rutgers Football Radio Network , which consists of three stations . The flagship is WOR in New York , a 50 , 000 watt clear channel station that is also the flagship for the university ' s men ' s basketball team . The other two stations in the network are WCTC , a low - power AM station that also carries Rutgers sports , and WPEN - FM , a Philadelphia area sports talk station . These games are produced by Nelligan Sports Marketing , a firm that finances college sports broadcasts throughout the nation . Chris Carlin is the voice of Rutgers football , with Ray Lucas serving as his color analyst . Bruce Beck subs for Lucas when he isn ' t available . MSG Network reporter Anthony Fucilli works as the sideline reporter while WFAN radio host Marc Malusis is the studio host .