Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs, the longest-tenured athletics director in the Big Ten, resigned back in August, citing health concerns.
"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 a letter to school president Jonathan Holloway.
Except a report from NJ.com on Thursday outlines that Hobbs was under investigation for a conducting a romantic relationship with a coach on staff at the time of his resignation.
The story begins in mid-June, when Hobbs approached university leadership amount increasing his $1.1 million salary. That would not be happening, Hobbs was told by the vice chairman of Rutgers's Board of Governors, and not only that, Hobbs was under investigation for an improper, consensual relationship with a subordinate.
The coach in question is head gymnastics coach Umme Salim-Beasley, whom Hobbs hired away from Temple in 2018. The article describes affectionate interactions in public between Hobbs and Salim-Beasley that left others feeling awkward, but more concerning was Hobbs's handling (and lack thereof) of Salim-Beasley and the gymnastics program.
For starters, Hobbs paid Salim-Beasley extraordinarily well for a lack of performance in competitions. Her salary began at $95,000 in 2019 but now sits at $165,000 and is set to top out at $195,000 in 2028, making her the third highest-paid coach in the Big Ten and nearly $25,000 above reigning B1G champion Mike Rowe of Michigan State.
At the same time, Rugers has a 2-43 record in Big Ten competition over the past five years, per NJ.com.
More concerning, Salim-Beasley came under scrutiny when eight current or former Rutgers gymnastics came forward with complaints of bullying and favoritism within the program. Those who came forward treated their coach and AD's relationship as a known fact.
“The first thing I said to him was: ‘I need you to set any personal relationship you have with Umme aside and listen to me as your student athlete,’” one gymnast told NJ.com. “He goes ‘What are you talking about? Personal relationship? That’s not true.’ If you’re getting defensive, that makes it seem true.”
Rutgers eventually hired a third-party firm to investigate the gymnastics program and ordered Hobbs to turn over all his university electronic devices on Aug. 14, with a meeting scheduled for Aug. 16. Hobbs resigned on Aug. 16, hours before the meeting was to occur.
Like any public university, Rutgers has a policy that “strongly discourages romantic, dating intimate and/or sexual relationships between University employees where there is an imbalance of power.”
Hobbs leaves behind a complicated relationship at Rutgers. In his nine years on the job, he did more than any other figure to bring the Scarlet Knights from an embarrassment to competitive in the Big Ten, particularly in the major men's sports. Basketball coach Steve Pikiell has taken the Knights to multiple NCAA Tournaments, and this year's team will start the season inside the AP Top 25.
However, Hobbs was painted as an obstacle to re-hiring of Greg Schiano, to funding the Knights' NIL efforts, and in recent months he was criticized for pursuing a new basketball arena rather than planned facility upgrades for football.