Kevin Tresolini | The News Journal

Kevin Tresolini, The News Journal

After nearly a half-century apart, the University of Delaware and Rutgers will have a reunion on the football field when they meet on Sept. 18, 2021, the schools revealed Friday morning.

It’s the second announcement of a football matchup with a Big Ten foe from a neighboring state in the past three weeks for the Blue Hens.

On Aug. 30, Delaware and Penn State disclosed they would collide on the football field for the first time in 2023 and again in 2027 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

The Blue Hens and Scarlet Knights, however, will be rekindling an old rivalry when they meet at 52,454-seat Highpoint.com Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

The schools met in 31 football games from 1901 through 1973. Delaware won 13, to Rutgers' 15 victories. There were three ties. They were Middle Atlantic Conference University Division rivals from 1958-1961 and actually met every season from 1955-64 and again from 1967-71.

Rutgers University

Rutgers’ subsequent climb to what became NCAA Division I, with Delaware becoming a Division II school, in the early 1970s ended their competitive relationship. After a long stay in the Big East, Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014.

The trip to Rutgers continues a string of games for Delaware, a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, at Football Bowl Subdivision schools. FCS teams may award a maximum of 63 scholarships to 85 for FBS schools, while FBS programs also typically have economic advantages over their FCS brethren.

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Delaware’s last win over an FBS opponent was 59-52 at Navy in 2007, when Joe Flacco threw for 434 yards, the third highest single-game total in UD history. Those Blue Hens reached the FCS title game before losing to Appalachian State that season.

Delaware has since lost FBS matchups at Maryland 14-7 in 2008, Navy 35-18 in 2009, Navy 40-17 in 2011, Navy 51-7 in 2013, Pitt 62-0 in 2014, North Carolina 41-14 in 2015, Wake Forest 38-21 in 2016 and Virginia Tech 27-0 in 2017.

Carlos Osorio/AP

There is no FBS opponent on this year’s UD schedule. But the Blue Hens return to Pitt on Aug. 31, 2019, and visit North Carolina State for the first time Sept. 5, 2020.

The Big Ten last year changed a rule passed in 2015 that prohibited its members from playing non-FBS schools. Big Ten schools play nine league games each year and now may face FCS foes the years in which they have four home and five away Big Ten games.

Games against FBS teams have several enticements for FCS programs.

First, they include a guaranteed payment of roughly $500,000 for the visiting school. The amount Delaware is receiving for its visits to Penn State and Rutgers is not known.

Players usually welcome the chance to exhibit their abilities against a higher-level foe in a large stadium and take a chance at pulling an upset that would make headlines.

And like the Penn State games, playing Rutgers should provide recruiting benefits for Delaware as many Blue Hen players hail from New Jersey. Rutgers has often been a landing spot for top Delaware high school players as well, including New England Patriots safety Duron Harmon out of Caesar Rodney High.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.