The decision to move the wrestling/football event to High Point Solutions Stadium at Piscataway, N.J. was announced Friday, when the Yankees still had a possibility of making it into the 2017 World Series. (On Saturday night the New York team lost to the Houston Astros in the seventh and deciding game of the American League Championship Series.)
"We were looking forward to staging this historic event at Yankee Stadium," Rutgers Director of Athletics Pat Hobbs said in a statement at the school's official sports website. "With two weeks until the date, it was important for us to finalize details that help ensure our fans and our student-athletes have a one-of-a-kind experience.
"As a result of the Yankees' amazing postseason run, there were operational concerns that called for us to make a decision at this time. It was agreed that moving the game to High Point Solutions Stadium was the best option under the circumstances."
Hobbs went on to say that Rutgers values its continuing partnership with the N.Y. Yankees.
Rutgers also gets a full refund of its $750,000 stadium rental fee and is not obligated to move a future game to the Bronx, NJ Advance Media reported Friday.
A start time for the Rutgers-Maryland wrestling/football event has yet to be announced.
The "Battle in the Bronx" had been anticipated to generate positive media attention for both the wrestling and football sports programs at the two participating schools.
In recent years, a number of college wrestling programs have staged dual meets in unusual settings such as at the school's football stadium, all with an eye to generating larger-than-average attendance and greater media coverage. One of the most successful events of this type took place two years ago at the University of Iowa, when the Hawkeyes hosted a dual meet with Oklahoma State prior to their football game at Kinnick Stadium.
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