Former Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs had a “relationship” with gymnastic team coach Umme Salim-Beasley that violated university policy, an investigation released Friday concluded.
Hobbs quit his $1.1 million job last Aug. 16 – “two days after he was informed by the school’s outside counsel that the school would be investigating an allegation of a consensual relationship with Salim-Beasley,” the report said.
More: Rutgers gymnastics coach, former AD Pat Hobbs ‘relationship’ violated policy
Here’s more about Hobbs’ career:
Before Rutgers: Early career of Pat Hobbs
The 64-year-old Hobbs was born in Orange, and attended Seton Hall Prep. He graduated from Seton Hall University in 1982, before attending law school at North Carolina, and receiving an L.L.M from NYU School of Law in 1988.’
Hobbs was hired as a professor at Seton Hall School of Law in 1990. He was named the school’s associate dean of finance in 1996, holding that position for three years before being named dean in 1999.
Pat Hobbs’ political climb
Hobbs made his way up the Garden State political ladder. In 2004, five years after he was named Dean of the Seton Hall Law School, Hobbs was named to the New Jersey Commission of Investigation, serving until 2014, serving as the commission chairman in 2010. During that same timeframe (2004-14), Hobbs served as chairman of the Newark Mayor’s Blue-Ribbon Commission on the Downtown Core Redevelopment, which paved the way for the construction of the Prudential Center.
In the aftermath of the Bridgegate scandal, Gov. Chris Christie tapped Hobbs to serve as the newly created position of ombudsman to the governor’s office.
Pat Hobbs and Seton Hall’s basketball revival
Hobbs also oversaw Seton Hall’s athletic department from 2009-11, firing head basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez in 2010 and leading the search that hired Kevin Willard. It was Williard, who had been at Iona, who revived the program, taking the Pirates to March Madness six times in seven NCAA Tournaments.
Hobbs hired at Rutgers
It was a tumultuous time for Rutgers athletics. University president Robert Barchi had just fired football coach Kyle Flood and athletic director Julie Hermann, hired after the Mike Rice scandal two years earlier. And hours later, on Nov. 29, 2015, he named Hobbs as the new athletic director. Hobbs’ political connections and previous experience in athletics made him an attractive, quick hire. He was immediately tasked with hiring a football coach, although he had not football experience.
Tailgating incident: ‘I regret that any action on my part could be interpreted as promoting the use of alcohol’
Hobbs came under fire when a viral video showed him sipping from a beer at the student tailgate section outside SHI Stadium prior to a game against New Mexico on Sept. 17, 2016. Hobbs apparently went to “The Alley,” where a school sponsored student tailgate party was started that season, in an attempt to calm an unruly crowd. Hobbs issued a statement saying, “I regret that any action on my part could be interpreted as promoting the use of alcohol. That was certainly not my intention.” The school canceled the tailgate shortly thereafter.
Basketball slam dunk
The Rutgers basketball program went 3-35 against Big Ten competition under Eddie Jordan in the Scarlet Knights’ first two seasons in the league, with Jordan, the ex-Rutgers star getting fired on Mar. 10, 2016. Hobbs turned to the mid-major ranks and hired Steve Pikiell, who had just taken Stony Brook to the NCAA Tournament. Pikiell has turned the program into a competitive Big Ten program.
Coaching controversies
The university fired swimming coach Petra Martin in November 2017, alleging mental and verbal abuse created a toxic environment. In 2019, the school settled a legal dispute with Martin, paying her $750,000, three times the amount she was owed on her contract, and publicly exonerated her. Hobbs was also required to write a letter of recommendation for her.
In 2019, allegations by players of physical and emotional abuse against softball coach Kristen Butler and her husband, volunteer assistant coach Marcus Smith, resulted in the school hiring a law firm to conduct an investigation. It found inappropriate behavior by coaches and a lack of communication on the part of administrators, but stopped short of recommending any discipline. Hobbs was forced to make a public apology after cursing at New Jersey Advance Media reporters asking questions about the softball program.
Greg Schiano returns
On Dec. 3, 2019, the university’s board of governors approved the agreement to bring Greg Schiano back to the Scarlet Knights football program. The 8-year, $32 million deal came a little over a week after both sides walked away from the talks. Schiano took Rutgers to six bowl games in 11 seasons (2001-11) on the sideline, before leaving to coach the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Schiano got a contract extension through the 2030 season prior to last year’s win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Facility upgrades
On Jan. 20, 2016, a capital project named “R B1G Build” was launched, seeking to raise $100 million for facility upgrades. It resulted in the 2019 opening of the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center to house the men’s and women’s basketball teams, along with gymnastics and wrestling. It cost $119 million, using donations, tax credits and the partnership with RWJ Barnabas to fund the project. It was the centerpiece of the upgrades, which included a new football practice facility, although work to raise money to build a football fieldhouse continue.
Hiring, firing of football coach Chris Ash
Hobbs oversaw the hiring of Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash to replace Kyle Flood as the Scarlet Knights’ football coach on Dec. 7, 2015. Ash signed a 5-year, $11 million guaranteed contract. But the team had an 8-32 record under Ash, including a 3-26 mark in Big Ten play, when he was fired on Sept. 29, 2019.
Massive budget deficits
The Rutgers Athletic Department incurred some staggering deficits during Hobbs tenure as one of the country’s most heavily subsidized programs. Between 2016 and 2023, the athletic department had a deficit of $368 million, including a whopping $73 million in 2021.
The numbers is actually much higher, with reporting by USA Today/New Jersey in 2021 revealing that $84 million in loans from the university to keep athletics afloat were reported as revenue, thus concealing the actual size of the deficits.
Abrupt ending
It came from out of the blue on the afternoon of Aug. 16, 2024, with Hobbs resigning abruptly, citing health concerns, with Ryan Pisarri named as the interim athletic director. Hobbs had the longest continuous tenure of any Big Ten athletic director at the time. At the time, Hobbs was receiving approximately $1.1 million in annual compensation at the time.
Two weeks later it was reported that Rutgers was conducting an investigation into a possible inappropriate, consensual relationship that violated university policy. It was later reported that the alleged relationship involved gymnastics coach Umme Salim-Beasley.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Who is Pat Hobbs? Ex-Rutgers athletic director’s tenure controversial
