NJ lawmaker on Rutgers entering Big Ten: Touchdown!

As Rutgers University officially joins the powerhouse Big Ten athletic conference today, one state legislator took the opportunity to bring out the football puns.

Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli (D., Gloucester) released a statement Tuesday chock-full of football jokes. In 2003, Burzichelli was one of four primary sponsors on a resolution, AR314, that urged Rutgers to continue playing Division I football.

His punny statement reads, in full:

"It's easy to forget these days, but there was a time not long ago when Rutgers was nearly ready to punt on 3rd down when it came to playing 1-A football. Granted, it wasn't playing 1-A football especially well at the time, but fortunately that fumble didn't happen. The end result is cause for a touchdown celebration for New Jersey.

"The Big 10 offers not only athletic excellence, but also academic excellence and partnerships. It will be a great experience for New Jersey. As one of the leading research universities in the United States and the birthplace of intercollegiate football, it's fitting that Rutgers have a football team that competes at the highest level of collegiate athletics.

"Now, I'm not spiking the ball before the goal line, nor claiming our resolution was the reason we were able to move this ball forward, but all the support added up, and Rutgers is where it deserves to be as a leading institution in the nation."

Along with the University of Maryland, which also joined the Big Ten today, Rutgers is one of 14 institutions in the athletic conference. Rutgers also joined the Big Ten's academic counterpart, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation.

Rutgers-New Brunswick will host an "R B1G Party" later today at its High Point Solutions Stadium. (Colleagues from the Sports Department are on campus today, covering those events, so check Sports for updates.)

The other Assembly lawmakers listed as primary sponsors on the 2003 resolution were Albio Sires, Joseph J. Roberts Jr., and John S. Wisniewski. Roberts now sits on the Rutgers University Board of Governors, appointed in 2010 by former Gov. Jon Corzine.