Field hockey has been a varsity sport at Rutgers University since 1974 . Between 1988 and 1994 , the Scarlet Knights competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference ( A-10 ) , while from 1995 to 2012 they were a member of the original Big East Conference , and in 2013 they played field hockey as an associate member of the new Big East Conference . Beginning with the 2014 season , Rutgers ( along with Maryland ) has joined the Big Ten Conference , expanding it to nine field hockey members . The team has twice appeared in the NCAA tournament , in 1984 and 1986 , playing a total of four games . In 1984 , Rutgers defeated Penn State in the first round before losing to Temple in the quarterfinals , while in 1986 it beat Pennsylvania in the first round before being eliminated by North Carolina in the quarterfinals . The Scarlet Knights ' best regular-season conference performance has been second place , which it has accomplished three times , in 1993 as a member of the A-10 , and in 1995 and 2000 as a member of the Big East . Rutgers has also made two appearances in conference tournament championship games , in the 1993 A-10 tournament and in the 1995 Big East tournament . In 1993 , the Scarlet Knights lost the title game to Massachusetts , while in 1995 they were defeated by Syracuse
original Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights field hockey