Ad Disclosure
Rutgers athletic director steps down, citing health-related issues
Published:
Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs handed in his resignation on Friday, ending a 9-year tenure that saw the football program return to respectability and ushering in an abrupt change in leadership atop the university’s athletic department.
The school named deputy athletic director Ryan Pisarri to an interim role while a search gets underway to determine Hobbs’ permanent replacement.
Hobbs cited health-related issues for his departure, though an official release from the school did not delve into specifics. A report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel said Hobbs distributed an internal resignation note to the school that referenced a recent meeting with a cardiac team.
“After meeting with my cardiac team this week and having just been apprised of the results of my latest round of testing, it is clear that I can not continue to serve as Athletic Director given the requirements of the position,” Hobbs wrote in an email to school president Jonathan Holloway, per ESPN. “I recognize this is not the ideal timeframe to depart, however other factors need to take precedence.”
Hobbs was hired in 2015. He was set to remain with the school through 2028.
While his initial football hire failed, his 2 major hires as the RU athletic director have been major successes.
Hobbs fired Kyle Flood in 2015 following a 4-8 season. He replaced Flood with Chris Ash, who lasted 3 full seasons and was fired 4 games into the start of the 2019 season with an 8-32 record. Hobbs then brought Greg Schiano back to Piscataway to steer the program back to relevance.
Under Ash, Rutgers 3 winless seasons in Big Ten play. When Schiano took over the program, the Scarlet Knights had won just 4 of their previous 44 games against Big Ten competition. They’d lost 21 straight conference games dating back to 2017.
Schiano went 3-6 his first year — the COVID-impacted 2020 campaign. Last season, he posted a 7-6 record and won the program its first bowl game since 2014. Rutgers is largely expected to return to the postseason again in 2024. (The win total is 6 at DraftKings, with most action on the over.)
Hobbs also hired Steve Pikiell ahead of the 2016-17 men’s basketball season. During the 2020-21 season, Pikiell led Rutgers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years and won a tournament game for the first time since the 1982-83 season. They returned the following season.
In 2022-23, Rutgers achieved its highest-ever finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup, placing 48th overall with a school-record 9 teams appearing in the national rankings.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.