Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs resigns in stunner

Rutgers is on the search for a new athletics d⛎irector.

Pat Hobbs has resigned the position after nine years because of🦋 health concerns.

“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, 64, wrote in an email to school pr⛄esident Jonathan Holloway. “I recognize this is not the ideal timeframe to depart, however other factors need to take precedence.”

Ryan Pisarri will have the role on an interim basis🌠, .

“I want to thank Pat for his remarkable nine-year tenure at Rutgers, during which we have seen our men’s and women’s teams become leaders and successfully compete in the Big Ten, both onꦬ and off the field,” Holloway said in an email to university leaders.

Hobbs was to make at least $635,000 in base salary this school year with his compensation adjusted to the median of ♓other Big Ten athletic directors, according to his employment contract.

Hobbs’ big move as AD was bringing back Greg Schiano as head football coach in 2019.

The decision to bring back Schiano, who previously coach🔜ed the Scarlet Knights fro𒈔m 2001-11, came after Hobbs’ first football hire, Chris Ash, went a disastrous 8-32.

The football team went 7-6 last season.

Hobbs oversaw a♔ number of facilities projects, notably the construction of a football practice facility.

💯He also had to navigate turbulence in the softball program🎀.

A 2019 investigation by NJ Advance Media reported allegations by players that coach Kristen Butler and volunteer assistant coach Marcus Smith, her husband, fostered a climate of fear, intimid♉ation and abuse. Butler remains the coach.

One of the reasons Hobbs’ resignation q🦂ualifies as a stunner is that the basketball program appears to be on a♌ big upward trajectory.

Head basketball coach Steve Pikiell has recruited two of the three top players in the country for this season’s incoming freshman class — Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.

“There’s Duke, Kentucky, UConn — all the big pr✱ograms — but why not be a trailblazer and stay home?’ ” Harper, the son of former Bulls great Ron Harper, said when he announced his commitment.

Overall⛦, Rutgers had the fourth-best recruiting class in the c𒀰ountry in 2024, .

This comes after Rutgers won an NCAA Tournament game in 2023, its first victory in the Big Dance in 31 years.

“I truly bel🧸ieve we are writing the greatest chapter in Rutgers history and I am confident that you will continue to do so. It has b🐭een an honor and a privilege to serve with you,” Hobbs wrote in his resignation letter. “I look forward to enjoying all your success this season and in the years ahead.”

— Additional reporting by the Associated Press