Over the last five seasons, Fordham has won or tied two-thirds of its men's soccer games, won two Atlantic 10 Tournament championships and appeared in three NCAA Tournaments.

Rutgers is hoping Jim McElderry installs that level of success into its men's soccer program.

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Rutgers Athletics via Fordham Athletics

Two years after leading Fordham to a surprising run to the NCAA quarterfinals, McElderry agreed to take over the Rutgers men's soccer program over the weekend.

"I feel lucky and privileged to lead the Rutgers program,'' McElderry said. "I know it's got a ton of history and I know all about that history. So I just felt like I had to take this opportunity.''

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A day after accepting the job, McElderry spoke with NJ Advance Media on a variety of topics, including his recruiting philosophy when it comes to New Jersey, his coaching style, and why he believes the Scarlet Knights can quickly morph into a perennial NCAA Tournament qualifier under his direction:

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Sixteen years at Fordham, why was the time now for you to make this move?

"I've had some different opportunities come across my desk over the years but I was happy where I was. I had a good working environment, a very good team, good people to work with.

"But I think when an opportunity to join a place like Rutgers comes across your desk, it was just something that I felt strongly about. I feel like it's a place where I can encourage top student-athletes to come. I feel really good about the degree that they're going to earn.

"But I also feel like we can provide the environment for them to be special soccer players, too. I just felt like the opportunity was too good pass up. I couldn't be more excited to be here.

"I also feel that with Pat Hobbs' leadership, what they've done fundraising, what they've actually done in terms of building things, is just incredible in this day of age.''

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A look at the Rutgers men's soccer hire

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Fordham Athletics | YouTube.com

You're a Jersey native?

"Yes. So I spent the first 22 years of my life in New Jersey, was born in New Jersey, grew up here, and after playing four years of soccer at Ramsey High School and graduating, I went to Fairfield University in Connecticut and never came back. I worked in New York but lived in Connecticut since then.

"But, absolutely, I loved my time here in New Jersey.''

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From a recruiting philosophy does it start with New Jersey and expand from there? What's your general recruiting philosophy?

"We're certainly going to have a lot of players from New Jersey on our team. I think it has to be a real fabric of the culture of our group. It makes sense, and there's a ton of excellent players in our state. So we will be recruiting not only the best players in New Jersey, but also there's a group of players out there that maybe are late developers or guys that we feel can help us over the long term. So it won't be only the guys that get all the accolades. We will be recruiting them; but it's not only about those guys.

"But also in this day of age, you can't just recruit in one area. You have to be all over the place. At the level that we want to compete at and the conference that we're in, we've got to be recruiting all over the world to give ourselves the best chance to be successful. But I will certainly be in and around high schools and academies and clubs in New Jersey a lot. Because I do think there's a ton of quality in our state.

"And what Rutgers is doing facilities-wise, I just feel like it's incredible opportunity to go to a great school and play soccer.''

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From a facilities standpoint, I know a big part of the Barbara and Gary Rodkin Academic Success Center will be new practice fields and locker-room and office space for the men's soccer program. What kind of recruiting tool is that, and does Rutgers have the tools now to bring in top-notch players?

"No. 1, I think currently what they have here is impressive. And then you add on to what's coming, the Rodkins center is going to be something that will rival any of the top schools in the country in terms of what the daily life of a soccer player is going to be -- whether that's the training facility, whether that's the match environment. But also just their daily life of being able to go to one place and have their locker room there, their study hall, their weight room, and pretty much anything they'll need to be a top-level Division I athlete or, more importantly, just a well-rounded student-athlete. Their ceiling will be at their fingertips.

"I really think we'll be able to compete with anybody in the country in terms of what student-athletes are going to have in terms of their experience.''

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I know from your bio it says Fordham earned the Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches Association for nine-straight years and boasted a 100 percent graduation rate of four-year team members since 2003. How does that happen, and will that be an emphasis at Rutgers?

"I think you're trying to combine both. That's the difference between being a professional athlete and a student-athlete at a university, you're getting the best of both worlds. My philosophy is take advantage of it. The standards that we set are going the about being incredibly competitive in everything we do, and that includes academics.

"Not everybody is going to have a 4.0 GPA, but we do want people to reach their potential academically. That'll be part of what's expected of them going forward, and there's no negotiating with that. They have to take care of their school work, and I also find that kids who do well academically play better. They don't have that pressure hanging over their head.

"There will always be some challenges. It's not always easy going from a high school to a university environment, so we're going to help them and work with them. But the expectation is they put the same kind of effort into what they're doing on the soccer field to the classroom.

"I obviously will be recruiting top-level soccer players. But I'm also looking for well-rounded student athletes. I do feel confident that the degree that they earn from Rutgers will take them places. But they have to put the work in, and that'll be the expectation.''

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How does the Rodkin Center for Academic Success impact Rutgers' coaches | Q&A roundtable

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Rutgers Athletics, via Tim Cowie | Tim Cowie Photography

What should Rutgers fans expect from a pure style standpoint on the field?

"We're going to recruit players that can deal with the ball. I want guys to be creative. I want guys that love playing. That's going to be a No. 1 prerequisite for me, finding guys who love playing because the work you need to do to become a top-level player isn't fun all the time. So they have to love it.

"But we will want to have the ball more than the other team. We want to play a fast brand of soccer. I think the No. 1 fiber for us is our competitiveness. We want guys training hard, to be better on the ball.

"We also want to be a team that's not going to be an easy match for anybody. We're going to play soccer the right way, and we're going to be ultra-competitive. So that's going to be something that I'm going to ask of our players, whether they're the guy scoring 20 goals a season or the guy that's playing in goal for us. They need to be competitive at all moments.''

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There's been talk that Rutgers needs to get better at recruiting players out of the Red Bulls Academy and other MLS feeder programs. Is that a part of your recruiting philosophy, to have a relationship with the Red Bulls?

"100 percent.

"When you're recruiting, you want to build relationships, you want people to trust you. There's no secret the professional teams that have academies have some of the best players in the country. They also have some of the most motivated kids, and kids who love to play the game.

"It's not only there, though. I will be in and around the academies 100 percent. I have a lot of contacts in the academies from my years of recruiting at Fordham and with guys who I used to play and train with. I think we'll have a lot of players from different clubs.

"But we also know there are players from all over the state, not only in academies, and we'll be looking at them as well. And then we'll also look outside the state and internationally because soccer right now is so competitive and there's players all over.

"And, again, Rutgers has a real positive reputation outside of New Jersey and across the world. So I'm going to use that to my advantage, and hopefully give a lot of different players an opportunity to experience what we have to offer here.''

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I think you have eight returning starters and a bunch of returning letterwinners as well. I know it's your first full day here but what do you know about your current roster?

"I think I know a lot of the players just from the years of recruiting. I've seen these guys playing (while) on the recruiting trail. But right now they're getting ready for finals. I'm not doing any training with the players right now. I'll be watching a lot of game film from this past season and prior seasons over the next couple of weeks.

"But then we'll get started in the spring, and guys will have opportunities to improve and also to impress.

"I'm not really going to waste too much time on the past; for me it's about what we do going forward and seeing how guys react to having a new coaching staff. There will be opportunities for everybody to impress, but there will certainly be an evaluation for us in the months ahead.

"And I'm certain there are guys on our roster who are going to help us next fall. But we'll also be out on the road and looking to add some players for next season as well.''

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WELCOME TO THE BANKS!

Jim McElderry To Head @RUMensSoccer Program



Coach McElderry has made three NCAA appearances, including the tournament quarterfinals in 2017, and captured two Atlantic 10 Championships over the last five seasons.



📰 >> https://t.co/oWoiHl6KwL pic.twitter.com/7wZvfoIQ6v — Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) December 9, 2018

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.