When Rutgers went to the Final Four in 1976, the guy who recruited most of the stars on that squad was the one and only Dick Vitale. By the time RU went to Philadelphia to face its only two losses of the season against Michigan and UCLA, Vitale had moved on to the University of Detroit as the head coach. Our Aaron Breitman wrote about the BTN program on the team that aired under the Big Ten Elite banner.
Vitale was a showman, ahead of his time for Rutgers. His greatest claim to fame to that time was as a high school coach who did very well at the now-closed East Rutherford High School.