The Rutgers community suffered a devastating loss on Sunday, as Jim Boylan – a former Rutgers assistant coach and associate AD, and current radio analyst alongside our Jerry Recco – passed away at the age of 82, just hours before the Scarlet Knights tipped off their second-round game against Houston.
Boylan had suffered a stroke last Wednesday, and was replaced on Rutgers radio by Chris Carlin for the team's NCAA Tournament games. The Cape May native was recovering at Cooper University Hospital in Camden after surgery to remove a blood clot, per NJ.com, and as recently as Friday, Recco believed his partner was on the road to recovery.
Unfortunately, Boylan's condition took a turn for the worse on Sunday afternoon and he passed away later that evening.
"I woke up on Thursday to the news he had a stroke," Recco said, "and I texted back and forth with Joe's wife on Friday and Saturday, and it seemed like he was on the right track. Then I did my interview with Coach Pikiell yesterday afternoon and he said things weren't looking good, and I was confused…and we got word I want to say about 15 minutes before we went on the air."
The team did not find out about Boylan's passing until after their tough loss to Houston, but head coach Steve Pikiell opened his postgame presser by sending condolences to Boylan's family.
"I want to send my condolences to Coach Boylan, our beloved radio guy. One of the nicest people I've ever met. He traveled with us for the last five years and was the voice of Rutgers basketball. He will be really missed," Pikiell said. "He was one of the greatest people that I've been around. He was a special person. I'm really sorry for his family, he is a loss for everyone. He was a legend at Rutgers. He was a special person. I know he's in heaven, he's that kind of guy. I want to send my prayers to his family."
Boylan was in his sixth season on Rutgers Radio (fifth alongside Recco), but he was a Scarlet Knights legend well before that. Boylan was the team's associate head coach from 1973-85 – a tenure that included the school's undefeated regular season and Final Four run in 1976 – before becoming the Assistant Athletic Director of Academic Support Programs and the team's radio analyst from 1985-91.
He left Rutgers to become AD at Loyola (Maryland) that year, a position he would serve in for 19 years before retiring in 2010 – but only temporarily, as he returned to Piscataway in 2015 for his second stint as radio analyst.
"Joe was one of the nicest men I have ever met," Recco said in a statement posted by the school. "It was an absolute honor to work with him for the last five years and to call him my friend. It's heartbreaking.
I'll miss him dearly."
Recco added to that sentiment during the 6:30 A.M. update on Boomer & Gio, hours after he finished the call of the Scarlet Knights' loss to Houston.
"He's one of the nicest men I've ever met and known. No matter where we went, he knew somebody – it was unbelievable his career in this game.
He loved Rutgers, and everyone treated him with such respect. It was just last week we were in Minnesota together, and he looked like he was all the way back from some previous issues. It's just sad…there's nothing else to say."
Follow WFAN's morning team on Twitter: @7BOOMERESIASON, @GioWFAN, @Alsboringtweets, @JerryRecco, and @WFANMornings
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
