Rutgers AD Hobbs resigns due to health concerns

Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs resigned suddenly Friday afternoon, sources told ESPN, ending the stint of the athletic director with the longest continuous tenure within the Big Ten.

Hobbs will be replaced on an interim basis by deputy athletic director Ryan Pisarri, according to ESPN sources.

Hobbs’ resignation note, which was distributed internally at Rutgers, referenced his health and a recent meeting with his “cardiac team.” He said in the internal note that the meeting indicated that it was “clear I cannot continue” in the role as athletic director. He’d been under contract through 2028.

Hobbs has been the athletic director at Rutgers since 2015, and his tenure has been highlighted by the hiring of Steve Pikiell in basketball and the return of Greg Schiano as the football coach. Those hires helped lift Rutgers out of the Big Ten doldrums, as Pikiell has led the Scarlet Knights to a pair of NCAA tournament trips and Schiano led Rutgers to its first winning season last year since 2014.

Hobbs overcame a difficult start at the school, which included the rocky tenure of football coach Chris Ash, who was hired by Hobbs and went 8-32. Hobbs is the former dean of Seton Hall Law School and has a background as a tax attorney. Pisarri is in his 14th season at Rutgers.

In an internal note from Hobbs to the staff, he said: “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve with you. I look forward to enjoying all your success this season and in the years ahead.”