Sarah Baumgartner is in her fifth year serving as Rutgers' Deputy Director of Athletics, providing oversight of all revenue generating and external departments. Additionally, she works with Rutgers Sports Health and student-athlete services at Rutgers.
Baumgartner assists the Director of Athletics with daily oversight of the department, including to human resources, budget, capital projects/master planning, contract negotiations, donor solicitation strategy and stewardship.
In her time as Deputy, Baumgartner has been an integral part of hiring head coaches, executive staff, and other leadership roles within the department. Over 10 new head coaches have been hired including football, men’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, volleyball, rowing, and track & field. Baumgartner assists with management of Rutgers Athletics’ head coaches and serves as the sport administrator for the Scarlet Knights' women's basketball and softball program.
Baumgartner helped secure the landmark $10.5M naming rights partnership with SHI for the football stadium in 2019.
Baumgartner previously held the position of Senior Associate Athletic Director/Chief Development Officer following her hire "On the Banks" in 2013. In this role, she spearheaded the department's development arm (R Fund) and launched the "R Big Ten Build" campaign, which raised over $115 million and was responsible for several impactful capital projects.
Baumgartner was instrumental in engaging and stewarding an ever-growing donor base while developing and executing revamped fundraising strategies which resulted in exponential growth of both R Fund donors and dollars raised. “R Big Ten Build” eclipsed the $50 million mark in just 15 weeks after launch in 2016. The contributions to the campaign included the four largest gifts in Rutgers Athletics history, combining to exceed $26 million and was buoyed by the largest gift in program history – the $15 million pledged by
Gary and Barbara Rodkin to fund the Academic Success Center on Busch Campus.
The department broke ground on the
RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center, a state-of-the-art practice and sports health facility which serves as home for the men’s and women’s basketball, gymnastics and wrestling programs. Additionally, the “R Big Ten Build” campaign would support the construction of the
Marco Battaglia Practice Complex, the Fred Hill Baseball/Softball Training Complex, the
Harriett and Bob Druskin Strength and Conditioning Center, the Ron and Joanna Garutti Strength and Conditioning Center, and The Brown Family Football Locker Room.
The Wheaton, Ill. native and former Big Ten softball student-athlete at Illinois, Baumgartner serves on Rutgers' Strategic Planning Committee, which recently released "The Relentless Pursuit of Excellence" to outline a plan and details quantifying measures towards achieving determined goals over a five-year timeframe.
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 serves as a member of the Sports Management Committee for the Big Ten Conference as well as the Joint Group Committee (Athletic Director’s, Senior Women Administrators, Faculty Athletic Representatives and Big Ten Commissioner and staff).
She is a current member of the Women Leaders in College Sports Board of Directors and assists the Foundation Fund Committee to develop more resources for Women Leaders.
Baumgartner served as President of the National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) for the 2019-20 membership year. NAADD, an organization which enhances the athletics development and fund-raising profession by providing educational, ethical and networking support.
She also was a member of the NCAA Division I Women's Softball Committee from 2016-2019.
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, and their twins, Greta and Leo, in Highland Park, N.J.
