Rutgers University Athletics

Sarah Baumgartner, who most recently served as Senior Associate Athletic Director/Chief Development Officer, was officially elevated to Deputy Director of Athletics by Patrick Hobbs on June 14, 2016. In her enhanced position, Baumgartner has oversight of the marketing, ticketing and communications departments, with a continued role in development and sport administration.

“This is a critically important time for Rutgers Athletics,” said Hobbs at the time of the appointment. “We need to build on the excitement around our program, to continue the positive momentum, and to execute on a plan to reach new heights. Sarah has already demonstrated tremendous leadership and I have the utmost trust and confidence in her. She is a skilled leader and we will all benefit from her efforts in the years ahead.”

“I am truly honored and excited for this tremendous opportunity,” said Baumgartner. “It allows me to serve more areas across the entire department. From my first day at Rutgers, the goal has been to make a positive impact every day. This new position enables me to make a much broader impact. To earn Pat’s respect, trust and confidence to lead our external teams is humbling. I have the utmost respect for Pat - he is a fantastic leader and even better person. He has a clear vision and culture that he wants to implement. I will work with urgency, passion and a relentless effort to execute on his vision with the goal to build a championship culture, both internally and externally.

“As an external team, our goal is to increase resources for our student-athletes, coaches, and staff. To achieve that goal, we will focus on four areas - collaborate and align communication from our external team, focus on enhancing the game day experience for all of our athletic events, develop and implement a customer service model that rivals and surpasses our peers, and work diligently to strengthen our brand.”

Named the Women Leaders in Sports (formerly NACWAA) Division I FBS Administrator of the Year in 2016, Baumgartner was instrumental in building relationships with an ever-growing donor base while developing and executing fundraising strategy resulting in record-breaking gifts. “R B1G Build,” a comprehensive campaign to raise $100 million for new or upgraded facilities, surpassed the $50 million milestone in just 15 weeks. The contributions included the three largest gifts in Rutgers Athletics history, which combined to exceed $11 million. For the 2015 fiscal year, Athletics raised $14.7 million in gifts and pledges, the second-highest total in Department history.

Since arriving “On the Banks” in December 2013, Baumgartner and her 10-person fundraising team have developed and implemented the comprehensive annual giving program, R FUND. The program has reached record levels of support, including generating all-time highs in annual operating gifts and total donors. R FUND surpassed 9,000 members in 2015, which included an increase of 2,200 new donors, the most in Rutgers’ history.

A native of Wheaton, Ill., Baumgartner continues to serve as the sport administrator for women's basketball, women’s golf and softball.

Prior to Rutgers, Baumgartner spent seven years with Missouri Athletics as the Associate Athletic Director for Development and men’s basketball sport administrator. The Tigers enjoyed unparalleled success during her tenure, both athletically and in donor growth.

At Missouri, Baumgartner oversaw a 15-member staff that raised $84 million towards Mizzou's “Going for Gold” campaign. The athletics annual fund, Tiger Scholarship Fund, increased donor membership by 60 percent and annual fund gift growth by 40 percent. She successfully developed and executed the fundraising plan to capitalize on Missouri's transition from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC, which saw record highs for donor membership and dollars raised at Mizzou.

Baumgartner is an Executive Committee member of NAADD, an organization which enhances the athletics development and fund raising profession by providing educational, ethical and networking support. She also serves as a member of the Sports Management Committee for the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA Division I Women's Softball Committee.

A four-year softball letterwinner at the University of Illinois, Baumgartner was an All-Big Ten Tournament and a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. In 2004, she received a bachelor’s in business administration, before earning her master's degree in sports administration from Illinois in 2005.

Baumgartner resides with her spouse, Pascha Boyd, in Somerset, N.J.