BRONX, NY—The Rutgers football matchup with Maryland on November 4, 2017, originally scheduled to be played on Rutgers’ campus at High Point Solutions Stadium, has been moved to Yankee Stadium.

The move was first reported by Chick Hernandez of CSN Mid-Atlantic.

Rutgers hosted seven home games in 2015, and are set to do so again in 2016.  But in 2017, the Scarlet Knights will host just six games at their on-campus stadium, with the Yankee Stadium game counting as their seventh “home” game.

According to NJ.com, the decision to play the game at Yankee Stadium was not made by athletic director Pat Hobbs, but rather former AD Julie Hermann. Hermann and the Yankees came to an agreement to move the 2017 contest to the Bronx back in 2015.

Hermann was relieved from her duties following the 2015 football season.

While neither Rutgers nor the Yankees have announced the game yet, Hobbs acknowledged an agreement was struck by the previous administration while appearing at Yankee Stadium to throw out the first pitch at a Yankee game alongside football coach Chris Ash.

The appeal of having Rutgers play a game at Yankee Stadium is clear: A major reason the Big Ten Athletic Conference brought in Rutgers was to gain a foothold in New York City, the largest TV market in the country.

The Scarlet Knights football team are no strangers to the home of the 27-time World Series champions.

In 2011, Rutgers faced off with Army in a regular season matchup there, and returned to the Bronx later that season to face Iowa State in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.

In 2013, Rutgers would play in its second Pinstripe Bowl when they took on Notre Dame.

While the Army matchup in 2011 was a regular season game, it was an Army’s “home” game, and Rutgers did not have to give up a chance to play in its home stadium.

The Maryland game will be the first time Rutgers has given up an on-campus home game since they played Army at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford back in 2010.

At this time, it is unclear what compensation Rutgers will receive to play at Yankee Stadium. Rutgers received $2.7 million to move the 2010 Army game to MetLife Stadium.

For what it is worth, Rutgers fans have not been receptive to the idea of losing a home game to Yankee Stadium.

In a poll on NJ.com, an overwhelming 69.3% of the poll’s nearly 3,000 voters were against the idea of a Rutgers home game at Yankee Stadium.

Among fans’ complaints are inconvenient and expensive travel to the city, difficulty tailgating, poor views to watch a football game in a baseball stadium, and the loss of “home-field advantage.”

Reporter at New Brunswick Today