Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs unexpectedly resigns, ending a nearly decade-long tenure

Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs unexpectedly resigned Friday, effective immediately, a source confirmed to CBS Sports.

According to multiple reports, Rutgers deputy athletic director Ryan Pisari is expected to serve as interim athletic director.

Hobbs had been Rutgers’ athletic director for more than nine years, helping guide the school through a challenging transition to the Big Ten. NJ.com, which first reported the news, reported that Hobbs wrote in an email to athletic department staff that he had informed Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway of his intention to resign Friday morning.

Before arriving at Rutgers in 2015, Hobbs held several jobs at his alma mater, Seton Hall, including positions as athletic director and dean of Seton Hall Law School. His background was in tax law before getting into college athletics.

He made several key hires at Rutgers that shaped the success of the school’s athletic department, both for better and for worse. His first football head coach, Chris Ash, was a colossal failure with an 8-32 record in four seasons. But he successfully brought back Greg Schiano for a second stint as the football program’s head coach and also hired Steve Pikiell, who appears to be moving the basketball program forward after signing the nation’s No. 2 and No. 3 overall recruits in the class of 2024, according to the 247Sports rankings.