NEW BRUNSWICK — Rutgers University unveiled its new $120,000 television commercial today in hopes of catching the eyeballs of up to 90 million viewers around the nation expected to tune in for the school's debut season in the Big Ten.

The 30-second spot, called "Revolutionary," is a quick tour through the state university's history starting with its founding during Colonial days. It features brief glimpses of some of the school's top professors and research projects. It also mentions that Rutgers was the birthplace of college football.

"It's where we are, where we've been, where we're headed. Always forward. Rutgers — revolutionary for 250 years," the deep-voiced narrator, actor and Rutgers alumnus Avery Brooks, says at the end of the commercial as a cannon booms.

The commercial will make its television debut during Thursday's season-opening Rutgers-Washington State football game on Fox Sports 1, said E.J. Miranda, a Rutgers spokesman. It will also be shown on the big screen inside High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway during Rutgers' home opener against Howard University on Sept. 6.

"In the next two years, the video will be aired during football, men’s and women’s basketball and other televised Rutgers athletic events on the Big Ten Network (BTN), CBS Sports and other networks," Miranda said. "On the BTN alone, the spot has the potential to be seen in more than 90 million households, providing an extraordinary opportunity for Rutgers to reach a national audience."

Colleges and universities are regularly given time to air promotional spots during televised NCAA games featuring their teams. Most of the commercials focus on the schools' academic and research reputations outside of sports.

Rutgers officials said they wanted to produce a high-quality commercial to mark the school's debut in the wealthier and more prestigious Big Ten athletic conference. The state university left the Big East in July to join the Big Ten, where Rutgers will play Penn State, Ohio State, the University of Michigan and other top schools.

Rutgers invested $120,000 in the new commercial, which was produced by Message & Media, a New Brunswick-based firm best known for consulting on Democratic political campaigns. The firm has also produced commercials for Sen. Robert Menendez and Sen. Cory Booker (both D-N.J.).

Message & Media previously worked with Rutgers on television spots in 2007, 2008 and 2012, Miranda said.

The new commercial features the baritone voice of Brooks, an actor best known for starring in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Spenser for Hire." Brooks, the first African- American student to earn a master of fine arts degree in acting and directing from Rutgers, now teaches at the university.

Several students and professors have brief cameos in the commercial, including Rutgers dean and chemistry professor Kathryn Uhrich and fellow dean and history professor Matt Matsuda.

Rutgers President Robert Barchi and the 15-member Rutgers University Board of Governors watched a preview of the commercial during a public meeting last month, though the spot wasn't officially finished. Today, the university posted the commercial on a website (revolutionary.rutgers.edu) highlighting the university's history and the people and research featured in the spot.

The video will also air on RU-tv, the campus television network, and be used at non-sporting events by faculty and staff to promote the university, Miranda said.

FOLLOW THE STAR-LEDGER: TWITTER • FACEBOOK • GOOGLE+