In 1864, rowing became the first organized sport at Rutgers. Six mile races were held on the Raritan River among six-oared boats. In 1870, Rutgers held its first intercollegiate competition, against the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard, the then top-ranked amateur crew of the time. In 1876, a new floating boathouse was built for the team adjacent the Albany Street Bridge in New Brunswick, but was washed during a flood in 1882.
The Class of 1914 Boathouse was built in 1950 and is located at the New Brunswick campus on the Raritan River. The boathouse consists of three bays, home and away locker rooms, a training room, and coaches offices. In 2010 the Class of 1914 Boathouse underwent extensive remodeling updating the facilities and aesthetics of the historic structure. The Raritan River is an idyllic collegiate rowing venue running right through the middle of Rutgers' campus. In addition the Raritan provides endless miles of protected water without other boat traffic, making it one of the best training locations in the country.
Since the start in 1864, Rutgers has built a strong crew program consisting of heavyweight and lightweight men. As part of the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges, Rutgers competes against the best crews in the country. The pinnacle of the season is racing at the EARC Sprint Championships, the most prestigious collegiate race in the East.
In 1952, two Rutgers oarsmen, senior Chuck Logg and freshman Tom Price, set out on their quest for Olympic Gold. The duo trained together for only three months before entering the Olympic Trails, but against all odds won the qualification regatta to represent the United States at the Olympic Games that year in Helsinki. With their appropriately named shell, "Cinderella", the Rutgers pair realized their dream winning Olympic Gold in convincing fashion, besting the field by nearly 3 seconds in the final.
The lightweight men’s crew has had success winning several medals at the Eastern Sprints throughout the years. In 1984 and 2000, the lightweights competed at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. In 2000, the crew went as far as the semi-finals at the Henley.
In 2003, the Rutgers Heavyweight Men advanced to the Final of the Henley Royal Regatta. In their race to the Final, the varsity defeated crews from Dartmouth and the Leander Club of London. In 2005, the Heavyweight Men’s Four was silver medalists at the IRA Championship Regatta.
Bob Kaehler ‘86 earned his way into the Gold-Medal favored Men’s Eight, which has won an unprecedented three World Championships in a row leading up to the Olympic Games in Sydney. Kaehler is a ten-time national team member and three-time Olympian. He has won four World Championship gold medals in the men’s eight, the most ever by an American. He was also named US Rowing’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1998. At Rutgers, Kaehler graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry.
Jeff Klepacki
Klepacki ‘90 was also a member of the Men’s Eight in Sydney and three-time Olympian. Klepacki was named the 1994 US Rowing Male Athlete of the Year after stroking the US Men’s Eight to a gold medal at the World Championships. At Rutgers, he was the captain of the crew team and named MVP in 1990, while earning a degree in economics.
Sean Hall
Sean Hall ‘89 was a member of the Men’s Quadruple Sculls for the Sydney Olympics. He is a nine-time national team member and three-time Olympian. Hall was a member of the men’s eight that won the 1994 World Championships. Sean graduated from Rutgers with a degree in Political Science.
Charlie Butt ‘83 and Tom Terhaar ‘91 were both named to the Olympic coaching staff. Butt coached the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls, while Terhaar headed the Women’s Quadruple Sculls. Butt was also a past rower of the Lightweight National Team.
1996 Atlanta Olympics
All four of the Rutgers athletes that participated in the Sydney Olympics also were members of the Atlanta Olympic Team, along with:
David Collins ‘91 was a member of the Lightweight Men’s Coxless Four. Dave became the only Rutgers oarsman to earn an Olympic medal in Atlanta, when his four won the bronze medal. Dave was a five-time national team member. At Rutgers, Dave was a member of the Lightweight Team, but won the IRA Championship in the open pair event.
Other Rutgers Olympians
Tom Price (‘55) and Chuck Logg (‘52)
Jim Neil ‘90 was named one of the sweep rowing spares for the 1996 Olympics. A nine-time national team member, Jim also was a member of the 1992 Olympics in the four with coxswain. Jim won the gold medal in the pair with coxswain at the 1999 World Championships.
Fred Borchelt ‘76 was a three-time Olympian (‘76, ‘80, ‘84), winning a silver medal in the men’s eight at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Chuck Logg ‘52 was a member of the only US pairs without coxswain crew to win an Olympic gold medal. Chuck, son of the Rutgers crew coach, was paired up with Tom Price a Scarlet Knight teammate of his to win the gold at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Tom Price ‘55 was only a Rutgers freshman when he won the gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Price and Logg shocked the country and the world with their win at the US trials and then the Olympics. It was fitting that their pair-oared shell was named “Cinderella” before their gold-medal run.
Rutgers has a rich Olympic and National Team history as many other Scarlet Knight rowers have made the US National Team, including:
John Bannon ‘73
Max Borghard ‘87
Leslie Burns-Rawley ‘93
Peter Cartmell ‘73 Chuck Crawford ‘72
Kevin Dengel ‘97
Robert Friedrich ‘97
Sharon Kriz ‘98
Fran McGovern ‘87
Scott McKee ‘82
Mike Morrison ‘85
Neil O’Donnell ‘97
Will Porter ‘89
Peter Simone ‘75
Maite Urtasun ‘01
Tom West ‘85
