Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs has received a contract extension through June 2028.
Hobbs, who has led Rutgers athletics for the past seven years, previously received a contract extension in 2017. His new agreement, approved Friday by Rutgers’ board, increases the cap on Hobbs’ potential bonus payments from $100,000 to $200,000. The deal also includes a six-month notice of termination or nonrenewal requirement, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2028.
Hobbs, 62, helped bring back football coach Greg Schiano and landed Steve Pikiell as men’s basketball coach, his first major hire as athletic director. Pikiell has guided Rutgers to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. In 2021, Rutgers reached its first NCAA tournament since 1991 and won its first game in the event since 1983.
“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,” Hobbs said in a statement. “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.”
Hobbs has overseen several facilities projects, including a football locker room and practice complex, through the R B1G Build capital campaign, which launched in 2016.
A Seton Hall graduate, Hobbs worked at Seton Hall as dean of the law school and later as interim athletic director. Rutgers hired him in November 2015 following a tumultuous period for the athletic department.
“Pat has been enormously successful in developing a program that is as solid in the classroom as it is on the field,” university president Jonathan Holloway said in a statement. “The board’s decision to extend his contract reflects the confidence we have in his commitment to excellence at every level.”