Rutgers Extends Athletic Director Pat Hobbs Through 2028

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers University has reached a contract extension with Athletic Director Pat Hobbs, keeping him at the helm of the Scarlet Knights through 2028. Hobbs, who is in his seventh season ‘On the Banks,’ has helped usher in one of the greatest eras in Rutgers Athletics history, marked by unprecedented success in the classroom and in competition.

“I want to thank President Holloway, the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees,” said Hobbs. “Our coaches, student-athletes and staff are dedicated, hardworking and passionate about being Scarlet Knights. I consider myself fortunate to serve as Athletic Director at a great university, with a team that is committed to the pursuit of excellence, and I look forward to continuing to join them in writing the greatest chapter in Rutgers history. What they have been able to achieve over the past six years personifies Jersey grit. Rutgers has the biggest upside of any program in the country, and I wouldn’t want to do this anywhere else.”

Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said the extension of Hobbs’ contract reflects a shared view that he has brought important and necessary changes to Rutgers Athletics, has helped build competitive programs in the Big Ten, and attracted coaches who have led programs focused on academic achievement and athletic prowess.

“Pat has been enormously successful in developing a program that is as solid in the classroom as it is on the field.  The Board’s decision to extend his contract reflects the confidence we have in his commitment to excellence at every level,” Holloway said.

The Board of Governors approved an extension of Rutgers-New Brunswick Athletics Director Patrick Hobbs's contract to June 30, 2028. The amended contract also increases the cap on the potential bonus payments to $200,000 from $100,000, which Hobbs can receive if athletic teams’ top goals are reached. The extension includes a six month notice of termination or nonrenewal requirement beginning Jan. 1, 2028.

The Scarlet Knights are enjoying their most accomplished period in Rutgers Athletics history, marked by Big Ten championships and postseason play. The 2021-22 season has been one of firsts, highlighted by the first Big Ten Regular Season Championship earned by women’s soccer and first Big Ten Tournament Championship captured by field hockey. Women’s soccer completed a 10-0 undefeated conference schedule to advance to the NCAA Tournament Semifinals, while field hockey earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Football, under the direction of head coach Greg Schiano, who returned to Rutgers in 2019, advanced to a bowl game for the first time since 2014. The Scarlet Knights earned a bid to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, the nation’s sixth-oldest game, thanks to a top-ranked academic progress rate score. Men’s basketball became the first unranked team in college basketball history to win four-straight games over ranked opponents. Wrestling sent seven student-athletes to nationals, the most NCAA qualifiers since 2017, as Sebastian Rivera became the fourth Scarlet Knight in program history to secure a top-three finish at nationals.

Gymnastics sent three Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Regionals and the team earned its first ranking since the 2014 season. Belle Huang and Hannah Joyner became the first gymnasts in Rutgers history to earn three All-Big Ten selections. Swimming and diving earned its highest Big Ten Championship finish and rowing entered the 2022 campaign ranked for the fourth consecutive season.

Nine teams have been ranked during the 2021-22 season, the most programs in Rutgers history ranked in the same competitive season, including the baseball program, which earned its first ranking since 2010.

As Rutgers Athletics and the rest of the world navigated through a global pandemic, the Scarlet Knights were able to turn in a successful campaign buoyed by the hard work of dedicated coaches, student-athletes and staff. Through the ups and downs, Rutgers achieved success on all fronts, reaching record heights athletically and academically to move another step closer to Hobbs’ ultimate vision to write the “next great chapter in Rutgers Athletics history.”

The 2020-21 season was one of milestones for the Scarlet Knights, as the men’s basketball program capped the winter earning its first NCAA Tournament berth in 30 years and first victory in March Madness in 38 years. Women’s basketball made its 26th NCAA Tournament as a program. The success across all sports during the 2020-21 season was seen in Rutgers posting its best conference winning percentage since joining the Big Ten in 2014.

Men’s and women’s lacrosse added to the number of postseason appearances for Rutgers. The men’s team qualified for its first NCAA Tournament since 2004, advancing to the quarterfinals, while the women’s squad earned the second NCAA Tournament bid in program history and first-ever postseason win. 

The Scarlet Knights finished 60th in the final Learfield Director’s Cup standings for the 2020-21 academic year, the second-best finish in school history and highest mark since the 2006-07 season. Rutgers is poised for its best finish in the Director’s Cup at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.

Shortly after his arrival in 2015, Hobbs tabbed head coach Steve Pikiell to lead the men’s basketball program. What followed were three straight winning seasons for the first time in over 30 years, back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1976 and a renewed energy at Jersey Mike’s Arena. A harbinger of things to come for the men’s basketball program could be seen during the 2019-20 season, as the Scarlet Knights posted their first 20-win season in 37 years and a ranking in the Top-25 poll for the first time in 41 years.

National Championship banners were hoisted to the rafters during Hobbs’ tenure with All-American wrestlers Anthony Ashnault and Nick Suriano claiming the first NCAA individual national titles in program history. The pair led a number of NCAA postseason trips in 2018-19.

Success in the classroom is a hallmark of Rutgers Athletics, ranking above the average APR rate in the NCAA. For the fourth straight year, the Scarlet Knights achieved a multiyear score of 990 or better and nine programs either tied or set records in multiyear APR rate in 2018-19. An impressive 625 student-athletes have been named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars since Hobbs' arrival in 2015, as Rutgers has set a school record in the number of Big Ten Distinguished Scholars in each of the past six academic years.

Rutgers set the school standard with an overall Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 90 in 2020-21 and has produced a score of 85 or above each year under Hobbs' leadership. Several programs were recognized nationally for their academic success this past season, as field hockey collected a NFHCA Academic Team award, men's basketball earned NABC Academic Team Excellence and women's golf was named a top-25 WGCA Academic program for the fifth consecutive season.

Gianna Glatz of field hockey became the fourth Wayne Duke Postgraduate Scholarship Award recipient, marking the most award winners from a single school since 2015. Rutgers is one of four schools in the 14-year history of the award with back-to-back winners (Glatz and Kieran Mullins in 2021).

The development of capital projects to support student-athletes is at the forefront of Hobbs’ charge to further the mission of the only Power Five conference program located in the nation’s largest media market.

The Gary and Barbara Rodkin Academic Success Center made its grand opening and serves as home to all student-athletes for their academic pursuits. The state-of-the-art facility provides a range of resources, including academic advising, learning specialists, one-on-one and group tutoring, and houses the locker room areas for the men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse programs, and the athletic department administration.

The “Rodkin” follows the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center, which opened to the delight of the gymnastics, wrestling and men’s and women’s basketball programs. In addition to providing world-class practice facilities, training areas, locker rooms and office spaces for those programs, the center also represents a partnership between Rutgers and RWJBarnabas Health to create a comprehensive sports medicine program to serve Rutgers athletes, students and communities throughout New Jersey.

Much of the capital project success can be credited to “R B1G Build,” a comprehensive campaign launched on Jan. 20, 2016, to raise $100 million for new or upgraded facilities.

With his leadership, Hobbs has directed the construction of The Brown Family Football Locker Room, The Marco Battaglia Football Practice Complex, The Fred Hill Training Complex, The Garutti Strength and Conditioning Center, The Druskin Strength and Conditioning Center and the Abe Suydam Men’s Basketball Locker Room. Additional facility improvements have extended to new playing surfaces at Bainton Field and the Rutgers Softball Complex, as well as new locker room areas for softball, field hockey, cross country and track and field.

In 2019, Hobbs landed a multi-year partnership with SHI International Corp., making the IT solutions provider the official naming rights partner of Rutgers Stadium. The collaboration with the Somerset, N.J.-based company has driven significant benefits for Rutgers Athletics.

Hobbs also secured the landmark agreement with Jersey Mike’s Subs to become the official naming rights partner of Rutgers Athletics and the newly named Jersey Mike’s Arena. The partnership between Rutgers and Jersey Mike's pairs two homegrown New Jersey brands, both on a path of tremendous growth and success over the past several years.