It started out with a couple of Tweets from one vocal Rutgers donor, and it ended one day later with a Big Ten fan base feeling empowered.

Rutgers athletics received $200,144.48 from new donors to the Big Ten Build campaign during a span of Sunday afternoon through Monday night, announced Rutgers athletics director Pat Hobbs.

Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs speaks to a crowd of donors and VIPs at a dedication ceremony for the indoor baseball and softball practice facility in January.

As a result, high-end boosters Jeff and Amy Towers, and Ron and Joanna Garutti are each donating an additional $100,000 as part of a donation-match guarantee, bringing the total earned in a wild period of about 28 hours to more than $400,000.

Perhaps most significantly, the $200,000-plus is only from 245 donors not among the first 2,221 who had given $46.1 million to the Big Ten Build in the first 15 months of its existence.

"First-time givers are incredibly important, regardless of the amount," Hobbs told NJ Advance Media.

"The more of them who get on board, we start to look like those other schools who have a groundswell of support. We need to do more of that, and this is an encouraging sign. If we can get this kind of support in a 24-hour period, what can we do over the course of the next 6-8 months?"

In all, including repeat donors to the campaign, Rutgers raised more than $425,000 from 345 donors. The new donor base featured two-, three, four- and five-digit monetary pledges and donations, with an average of $816 per gift.

"Efforts like these prove Rutgers supporters can be rallied to support the grand plan," Rutgers booster Jon Newman told NJ Advance Media. "For too long there's been a tired, old narrative. That time is over. We're showing that Rutgers is moving forward. The clock is ticking on those who perpetuate the past.

Newman -- whose contributions are behind the rise of the RVision online streaming network -- launched the idea of a Twitter-thon Sunday. He also is a leader of the grassroots captains fundraising program designed to draw in 10,000 new donors at any level.

The Towers and Garutti families quickly responded to Newman's idea with Twitter pledges to match all contributions up to $100,000.

"It was an incredibly pleasant surprise," Hobbs said. "I get off an airplane and I see this back-and-forth between some people who are very, very supportive of our program. The first thing I said was, 'What happened here?' It's the best kind of fundraising. Fundraising that's viral."

The Towers already are responsible for the single-largest gift in Rutgers athletics history to majority fund the revamped football practice complex, while the Garuttis already funded the new $1.65 million strength and conditioning center bearing their name in the Hale Center.

"You have to be incredibly thankful for the commitment and the generosity of these people," Hobbs said. "Their impulse is do something to be supportive of Rutgers. I know every coach and every student-athlete appreciates what they do."

The Rutgers athletics fundraising team, led by senior associate athletics director for development Rich Knupp, hit the phones Monday to advertise the limited-time-only offer by the Towers and Garuttis. Multiple email blasts also went out to season ticketholders and other alumni.

"Right away there is an energy and excitement that gets infused into everybody," Hobbs said. "We've got people who work hard in fundraising, and they seized the opportunity."

The result was that many people who previously were on the fence about donating decided to contribute because the value of their dollars was doubled.

Newman posted periodic updates on his Twitter account throughout the day. The movement ended Monday at 8 p.m., with a tally of $182,000 and counting across multiple platforms.

"This was a true team effort," Newman said. "The RFund folks jumped in and ran with it, the captains got involved and posted on their social media and on fan boards, and donors really got swept up in the momentum. People who have never given before stepped up."

The key for Rutgers now is to build off the momentum as the price tag for the multi-sport practice complex set to open in 2019 was announced last week as $115 million. The Big Ten Build was launched as a $100 million campaign, including $25 million in government-approved tax credits.

Rutgers Board of Governors authorized the university to provide interim financing for any part of the project if fundraising falls short.

Of course, there is more for Rutgers to build -- and fundraise for -- after the multi-sports complex, which will benefit from a $18 million naming-rights investment from Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health.

Faculty critics of Rutgers athletics spending passed a resolution last week calling for an outside consultant to review the department's finances and prepare a "realistic" financial plan.

Hobbs has been privately working behind the scenes on an athletics "strategic plan" for months.

"From the beginning we've been saying we have to be all-in," Hobbs said. "Hopefully somebody who didn't participate during this 24-hour period says, 'I can still participate.' And then maybe the next major donor gets inspired to do another matching challenge over the course of the year."

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.