by Kent Sterling
Rutgers basketball coach Eddie Jordan is a distinguished alum for a school where he never graduated.
Jeez. Who’s in charge over at Rutgers?
Not two months after basketball coach Mike Rice was told to pack a box after years of verbal and physical abuse were revealed in hilarious and horrifying practice videos, Deadspin has uncovered his replacement never earned the degree he has claimed to.
Yep. Eddie Jordan not only claimed to have earned his degree. He still says that he really did earn it, but because of an error in registration the credits were never applied to his transcript.
The university for its part honored Jordan in 2004 as a member of its Hall of Distinguished Alumni. How does Deadspin know more about who graduated from Rutgers than Rutgers?
Jordan says that some of his professors are still at Rutgers and will remember that he did the work needed to finish the work for his degree – in 1984. I don’t know what I had for lunch last Thursday, but these professors are going to recall who was in a class 29 years ago?
Personally, I don’t care if a guy running a business earned his degree, but a coach who is trusted to shepherd students through college with the goal of earning a degree should have at the very least set a legit example himself.
Then there is the issue of misrepresenting his degree status in the same way that got George O’Leary canned at Notre Dame shortly after being hired as football coach.
That doesn’t appear to bother Rutgers as the knuckleheads there are still expressing excitement over Jordan’s hire, “His athletic skills and leadership and his professional accomplishments have been a source of pride for Rutgers for more than three decades,” reads part of a statement released after Jordan was outed as a liar.
And while no record can be found of Jordan claiming that he earned a degree, he has certainly had ample opportunity to straighten this out over the years – maybe when the school called to inform him that he would be honored in the Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
Rutgers inability to keep Rice from treating student-athletes like R. Lee Ermey treated Private Pyle in “Full Metal Jacket” until a video was leaked to the media, and it’s obvious and glaring lack of diligence in determining whether a high profile hire had actually earned a degree from the school where he applied, casts it in a miserable light.
Not only should a leader trusted to help a group of adolescents become men be held to the same high standard he will maintain for his players, the Big Ten Conference needs to take a good hard look at whether Rutgers is a worthy candidate for inclusion in what members hope is the finest grouping of universities in the world.
After these two humiliations, someone needs to ask what other details are failing through the cracks. Not only should there be immediate consequences for the hiring managers, a thorough independent inventory of standards and practices should be mandated.
The crackpots in charge at Rutgers owe answers to everybody, and Governor Chris Christie looks like a rube for so publicly backing president Robert Barchi after the unpleasant Rice incident.
Heads need to roll, and maybe it doesn’t stop until Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and the member presidents have a serious conversation about the high cost it is paying for adding a school so devoted to embarrassing itself and those who do business with it.
they made a mistake …. the admitted utter and corrected it…. relax he was only 7 credits shy of his degree… the media is rediculous!
they admitted it and corrected the mistake*
Which mistake did they correct? They corrected nothing but the language in the release.
irresponsible journalism at its finest! Leave the man alone. This was the most stupid article I have ever read! must be a slow news day!
They are operating at half capacity with out an AD. Give them a break!! agreed this article makes little sense. Plus who cares about basketball, the football program is clean as whistle!
How the hell does anyone know what the football program is. Clean as a whistle? By whose reckoning? The same people who stood by a clearly deranged basketball coach and were too busy to make sure the second highest profile employee at the school had his degree as they claimed.
Get off your witchhunt! There are 500,000 alumni that you are offending! I don’t think you should be criticizing our school the way you have, especially with inaccurate information.
I’ve offended larger groups by telling the truth. All of the information in the post has been reported by multiple sources including the New York Times, and have been confirmed by Rutgers University itself. The perspective is my own, but the facts are the facts.
Terrible read… Give them some slack. They will hire a Big Ten chosen AD that will correct all this. plus i think the media is just sitting waiting for any slip up at all. Leave them alone.
Waiting for any slip up? They are unaware of a hire’s degree status while being in the business of conferring them, and he attended their own university. That’s a crazy and unsatisfactory operation. Deadspin was smart enough to find out what Rutgers was unable to.
Please practice responsible journalism… This is untrue and deflamatory!
What is untrue and defamatory? Rutgers was lazy and irresponsible in its hiring practices. By the way, I’m not usually one to criticize word invention, but a post can be inflammatory or it can defame. “Deflamatory” is not a word.
Rutgers hired a man they found to be crazy, and suspended him. Then they announced with great pride the homecoming of an alum who isn’t an alum, but had been honored as an alum in 2004. How am I doing so far?
the definition of alum is someone who has attended “or” graduated from a university or college. And to answer your question you are doing terribly. You replying so rudely to your readers is not only crass but unprofessional. Please don’t quit your day job!
An alum has graduated. The literal definition is not germane to this discussion. Anyone who calls himself an alum of a university because he studied there without graduating is deceiving his audience.
Rude? You’re supposed to be tough guys in Jersey. Nut up and take your medicine like men.
You have to keep in mind that the few Rutgers fans there are all suffer from a tremendous inferiority complex and cannot accept the truth. They wish they had attended a name university with a reputable athletics program but unfortunately for them Rutgers was the best they could do.
The thinking of the typical Rutgers fans is this…Eddie Jordan does not have a degree? Can’t be his fault! It has to be the media, fans of another school, someone who is jealous of Rutgers (good luck finding that individual!). It has to be anyone else’s fault but the guy who should have completed the coursework and applied for his degree, namely Eddie Jordan.
Rutgers can’t get out of their own way. They do not belong in Division 1 and certainly do not belong in the Big 10. The Big 10 is going to regret ever admitting them as they really bring nothing to the table.
Emily – You are the commenter of the day. The truth hurts for Rutgers fans – and legitimate alums.
Sad that the site was down for a good portion of the day. More people should have read your wisdom.
Emily,
As a person who went to Uconn, and who has there kids at Rutgers, I will tell you that the education at Rutgers is extremely strong. It is the 8th oldest school in the nation, the first football game ever played in college athletics was between Rutgers and Princeton in New Brunswick. It has a ton of history and has contributed to the nation in many ways. The cure vaccine to polio and tuberculosis was found at Rutgers. Antibiotics that you take when sick were developed and discovered at Rutgers. The heat shield that was placed on our Nasa Space shuttles all developed and researched at Rutgers. Your comments are ignorant and lack information. You sound a lot like Kent. Rutgers is an AAU school, something UConn is unable to achieve and Syracuse lost. Rutgers is going through some difficult times after that Animal Mike rice was exposed but they will right the ship once a new AD is brought on board.
NYC / NJ $$$$$$$$$$$$ is the reason the big Ten will never leave out Rutgers. Cuz if they did Rutgers would take its FAT #1 media market, its fertile recruiting grounds and all the millions and exposure that go with it to the competition – the ACC. So please stop writing these rediculous articles. Im sure the ACC is praying at a chance to snatch up Rutgers and get even with the big ten for taking away Maryland.
I heard that the ACC was pissed that the BIG TEN took Rutgers before it could grab them! I think that the Big Ten did the feasibility study and realized what an untapped gold mine Rutgers was (Delany is super smart) before the ACC could get to it. I think you are right Josh, I am sure ESPN and the ACC (they are linked in a deal together) will do anything to separate Rutgers from the Big Ten and bring all those TV sets to the ACC and ESPNS control. I doubt Delany would EVER fall for that though!
UConn would bring more eyeballs to either the Big Ten or the ACC than Rutgers. UConn’s fans also travel well. Rutgers fans don’t even travel to New Brunswick (where they are located).
This is definitely not true. Spring practice at UCONN brought barely 12,000 people to the Rent (stadium in hartford)… I know I was there with my nephews. Rutgers day brought in 83,000 fans! The ACC passed up UCONN on more then 4 occasions while UConn begged to be admitted. This is because the Hartford Media area does not compare to New Jersey’s 9 million residents Plus NYC 7 million. There are only 124,000 people who live in Hartford, this is tiny. There following in NY is tiny and only for basketball. UConn is great, I went there, but it does not compete with Rutgers on eyeballs or Football at all… Rutgers in football (which does pay the bills) is light years ahead of Uconn. That’s just the truth.
Kent,
Wasn’t the abuse handed out by Knight over decades alot worse than Rice’s lame effort? Didn’t IU hire Mike Davis with a degree from some diploma mill and then follow that up with Kelvin Sampson? Geez!!! Glass house?
Very poorly written article! I bet Kent is going to ask for Rutgers to be kicked out if Jordan forgets to wash his hands after going to the bath room! Retarded article!
Yeah, excellent analogy. By the way, it was exceptionally well written, as is everything on this site – you just disagree with it. A college coach without a degree is like a car mechanic without a drivers license. And a school that doesn’t know who the hell has graduated needs to have its systems recalibrated.
If you haven’t been following the news, Rutgers is aware that Jordan is 7 credits shy of his degree. There was a clerical error when putting up his bio on the website. Please relax, relevant experience is always a substitute for education. Why are you putting down people without degrees? I don’t have a degree, does that mean I am less than? The assertion that a basketball coach with all that experience needing a degree to teach basketball is absurd… and so is your article!
I can only compare what I have seen Rice do with what I have seen Knight do. Knight grabbing Reed around the throat pales in comparison to the insanity we all saw from Rice.
The issue with Jordan isn’t that he didn’t graduate – it’s that Rutgers was completely unaware that he didn’t graduate. Hiring a guy without a degree can be a valid choice. Not knowing that he never graduated – from your own school – is ridiculous.
untrue… they were aware… it was a mistake on the bio made by an intern. calm down
If they kick out RU because of a registration error, what should happen to Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State for their scandals? A little hypocritical don’t you think, Kent?
Amen brother! Lets just hope ESPin and this bozo doesnt fool Delany and the Big Ten Presidents into getting rid of Rutgers, just so the ACC could grab those tv sets on behalf of ESPN! It would be an obvious coup to get back at the Big Ten for talking away Maryland if the ACC could get its hands on (Rutgers) New Jersey/NYC.
I hate to admit this but Rutgers is a gold mine! Its in the number 1 media market… Its apparent just look how vast the news about Mike Rice spread, and this news. The media in New York is huge, and the Big Ten wants (for good or for bad)!
Yes a ton of TV sets in metro NYC. Also a fan base indifferent to Rutgers. They are at the top other than the Yankees, Giants, Jets, Mets, Rangers, Nets, Knicks, Islanders, Syracuse, St Johns, and UConn.
There are over 500,000 Alum that will disagree with you on that. New Jersey doesn’t have a sports team (now that the nets are in Brooklyn) and Rutgers is one thing that will never desert the garden state. We are all starting to back Rutgers. Just take a drive on the Turnpike and count how many “R”s you see on the back of car bumpers, its insane!!
I think all can agree Rutgers is a great fit with the Big Ten, academically, athletically and geographically. And any fair minded Rutgers alumni and fans would agree there is a ton of upside and enthusiasm that can be built in NY/ NJ, just like other Big East basketball schools thrived. It’s doubtful any basic mistakes like alumni vs attended will be repeated.
Rutgers could be a giant in the making. I hope they are.
Is it too late for the Big Ten to drop Nebraska for being kicked-out of the AAU? Shouldn’t they drop Penn State for they’re huge fiasco? Shouldn’t they kick-out Ohio State (and others) for breaking NCAA rules?
Rutgers problems are minescule compared to those!
Rutgers problems are different, not minuscule. The issues at other schools encroach upon the realm of institutional control. Rutgers University shows a lack of institutional awareness. The difference is the same as that between thieves who steal because they are greedy, and those who steal because they aren’t aware that they are stealing.
That has to be one of the dumbest statements I’ve read recently.
agreed… this guy is pretty clueless!