I know these comments are very late and you put out a great list Aaron even though it would've been nice if you also mentioned more assistant directors who would fit in a role as Rutgers AD. You only mentioned the current interim Ryan Pisarri and Sarah Baumgartner from Texas who did work under Pat Hobbs when she was at Rutgers herself. The discussion used to be at one point Pat Hobbs could've been our university president with his credentials making her our athletic director at that point. Still some great choices either way.
RU will ultimately hire an AD. But I see this playing out on a elongated timeline especially if Holloway exits in 2025. You say that the Holloway and the BOG supports athletics. I think that to be true. But still no Jersey Mike's arena renovation. Still no Athletics Master Plan. Baseball had to go off campus to plug into decent playing facilities. The Rutgers AD job comes with tremendous opportunities but massive challenges. The biggest challenge is not so much that Athletics is in the red. It's that the University is in the red and state funding has flatlined. It's likely a key component of Holloway not looking to renew. Final point. You mentioned Wildstein and his publication the Globe. He published a New Jersey Power 100 list. Note that there is no one from Rutgers on that list. It's just one data point. But it actually tells us a lot!
@samruda I also think Holloway's departure is not even related to Rutgers athletics because of the protests last year having never occurred in our history, leading to him getting that no-confidence vote earlier this year by an almost 2-to-1 margin. But he also said he and his family doesn't feel safe. This is especially when you have, and everyone please know I'm not trying to start anything here, the current conflict in the Middle East. There are some RU students who have strong feelings about that like in other campuses across the country that actually led to a number of those university presidents stepping down because of how they handled it.
I agree that Holloway leaving has nothing to do with Athletics. I suspect too that the issues of safety that you reference is part of the equation. But Holloway has said "I've moved the needle as far as I could." Things the core statement. And why is the needle stuck? No money as Rutgers (mostly behind the curtain and with no public discussion) faces a financial crisis. And the financial crisis is not the Athletic Department losses. That's an aggravating factor. The University has structural operating deficits. These deficits were masked during Covid as federal and state relief funds were robust. That's no more. I also think that the financial issues factors into Hobb's departure at some level.
@@samruda23 The other things I mentioned are definitely important but I do agree our long-time financial issues don't help either. Now maybe he actually had health issues even though we all know the real possible reason Pat Hobbs left in like two weeks before our football season began. I just won't get into that and that part still needs to be verified anyway. It also shows though and maybe it's his age as well being in his 60's, that Hobbs never took NIL seriously.
I know these comments are very late and you put out a great list Aaron even though it would've been nice if you also mentioned more assistant directors who would fit in a role as Rutgers AD. You only mentioned the current interim Ryan Pisarri and Sarah Baumgartner from Texas who did work under Pat Hobbs when she was at Rutgers herself. The discussion used to be at one point Pat Hobbs could've been our university president with his credentials making her our athletic director at that point. Still some great choices either way.
Northern Illinois' head coach who led his team to upset Notre Dame last month is from Jersey City. His boss could be an intriguing choice.
RU will ultimately hire an AD. But I see this playing out on a elongated timeline especially if Holloway exits in 2025. You say that the Holloway and the BOG supports athletics. I think that to be true. But still no Jersey Mike's arena renovation. Still no Athletics Master Plan. Baseball had to go off campus to plug into decent playing facilities. The Rutgers AD job comes with tremendous opportunities but massive challenges. The biggest challenge is not so much that Athletics is in the red. It's that the University is in the red and state funding has flatlined. It's likely a key component of Holloway not looking to renew. Final point. You mentioned Wildstein and his publication the Globe. He published a New Jersey Power 100 list. Note that there is no one from Rutgers on that list. It's just one data point. But it actually tells us a lot!
@samruda I also think Holloway's departure is not even related to Rutgers athletics because of the protests last year having never occurred in our history, leading to him getting that no-confidence vote earlier this year by an almost 2-to-1 margin.
But he also said he and his family doesn't feel safe. This is especially when you have, and everyone please know I'm not trying to start anything here, the current conflict in the Middle East. There are some RU students who have strong feelings about that like in other campuses across the country that actually led to a number of those university presidents stepping down because of how they handled it.
I agree that Holloway leaving has nothing to do with Athletics. I suspect too that the issues of safety that you reference is part of the equation. But Holloway has said "I've moved the needle as far as I could." Things the core statement. And why is the needle stuck? No money as Rutgers (mostly behind the curtain and with no public discussion) faces a financial crisis. And the financial crisis is not the Athletic Department losses. That's an aggravating factor. The University has structural operating deficits. These deficits were masked during Covid as federal and state relief funds were robust. That's no more. I also think that the financial issues factors into Hobb's departure at some level.
@@samruda23 The other things I mentioned are definitely important but I do agree our long-time financial issues don't help either. Now maybe he actually had health issues even though we all know the real possible reason Pat Hobbs left in like two weeks before our football season began. I just won't get into that and that part still needs to be verified anyway. It also shows though and maybe it's his age as well being in his 60's, that Hobbs never took NIL seriously.