Rutgers Univ. President Robert Barchi on Friday said that things "are on the upswing and predicted bigger-than-expected payouts from the school's participation" in the Big Ten, according to Patricia Alex of the Bergen RECORD. Barchi said that Rutgers' share of the annual payouts from participation in the Big Ten "could amount" to $43M by '18. But Barchi "stopped short of backing away from the university's own projections" of a $183M deficit for the athletic department over most of the next decade. Barchi's comments "came on the heels of news reports" that Rutgers AD Julie Hermann "made a tasteless remark about the Penn State sexual abuse scandal during a staff meeting last year." Barchi "seemed unconcerned about the remarks, saying they were 'off the cuff.'" He "expressed confidence in Hermann's leadership, which has been marked by some high-profile verbal miscues since her arrival last year" (Bergen RECORD, 9/20). In Newark, Ted Sherman reported Hermann's remark came while she was urging school employees to "be ambassadors for the university." A source said Hermann's comment was, "We have to reach out to our donors, fans, everyone, and we need to touch them. Not in a Jerry Sandusky-type way" (NJ.com, 9/19).
STICKING BY HER SIDE: Rutgers Senior VP/External Affairs Pete McDonough in a statement said, "Julie's comment was an off-the-cuff response to a give-and-take interaction urging the fundraising team to reach out and touch the donors. There probably isn't a person alive today who hasn't made an impromptu remark in a private meeting that probably shouldn't have been said." USA TODAY's Ryan Dunleavy noted Hermann, who "declined comment through an athletic department spokesperson, has been embroiled in numerous controversies since first taking over" in May '13. McDonough: "The University is not going to let a spontaneous, offhand remark obscure the fact that Julie is doing a great job as Athletics Director. Bringing change always ruffles some feathers, but the results are clear -- ticket sales are setting new records for home and away games, the R-Care program is serving our student athletes' academic, social and personal well-being, and our fundraising (is) up. ... Even taken out of context, this single comment was not directed at Penn State, its students, staff or faculty" (USATODAY.com, 9/19).
WHEN IT RAINS...: PENNLIVE.com's David Jones wrote the Penn State comment is "only the latest PR misstep for Hermann in a career as AD that's barely a year old and almost never got off the ground because of her apparent duplicity regarding her history as Tennessee volleyball coach." But Hermann was "hired to make Rutgers' athletic department money, not because she's a smooth politician" (PENNLIVE.com, 9/19). In Newark, Steve Politi wrote the "crude joke was bad enough, and if it didn't rise to the level of a fireable offense on its own, you'd think given all the other gaffes and controversies" since Hermann took over, it "certainly would push it over the top." If she "doesn't have the common sense to avoid an off-color one liner about a child sex abuse scandal that rocked one of Rutgers' new conference rivals, in front of more than a hundred employees, what can she be trusted to do?" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/20). Also in Newark, Vernal Coleman reported some Rutgers students "are calling" on Hermann "to apologize" for the remark. Some said that they "are disappointed," while others indicated that they are "simply growing weary of the controversies that seem to follow the athletic department's embattled top administrator" (NJ.com, 9/20).
