Pat Hobbs resigns as Rutgers athletic director, citing health concerns

Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs resigned Friday, citing health reasons for deciding to leave the school after nine years.

The departure of the 64-year-old Hobbs comes just three weeks before the Scarlet Knights begin a highly anticipated football season. Ryan Pisarri, the deputy athletic director and chief of staff, will take over as interim athletic director.

“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. “I recognize this is not the ideal timeframe to depart, however other factors need to take precedence.”

Rutgers hired Hobbs in 2015, a year after the school joined the Big Ten.

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.

His first major hire was Steve Pikiell, who turned around Rutgers’ struggling men’s basketball program and led it to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and ’22. He brought back Greg Schiano as football coach for the 2020 season, and the Scarlet Knights last year posted their first winning record since 2014 and won the Pinstripe Bowl.

In 2022 he hired Coquese Washington to replace C. Vivian Stringer as the women’s basketball coach.

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