Rutgers remained independent until 1991 when it joined the Big East Conference for football . All sports programs at Rutgers subsequently became affiliated with the Big East in 1995 . On July 1 , 2014 Rutgers became a member of the Big Ten athletic conference , after paying an $ 11.5 million exit fee to the American Athletic Conference ( which formed as a result of the splitting of the Big East Conference )
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights