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Rutgers AD Hermann Fired After Tumultuous Tenure; School Acts Quickly For Replacement

Rutgers AD Julie Hermann "was fired" yesterday afternoon following a meeting with school President Robert Barchi, and the "house-cleaning continued when news of football coach Kyle Flood's firing broke minutes later," according to Ryan Dunleavy of the ASBURY PARK PRESS. Rutgers "quickly acted to replace Hermann" with Seton Hall Law School Dean Emeritus Patrick Hobbs, who also is the ombudsman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Hermann, the first female AD in Rutgers history, earned $450,000 per year on a contract that she signed in May '13. Barchi "initially set out to hire" an interim AD but "handed Hobbs a five-year contract that will pay a $560,000 base salary." Barchi said that there was "no political pressure to make the fires or the hire of Hobbs and that he did not seek or receive Christie’s counsel on the hire." Barchi said that he, along with BOG Chair Greg Brown and Vice Chair Ken Schmidt, "offered Hobbs the permanent job on Friday." Dunleavy notes Hermann’s "difficulties fundraising and the lack of confidence she inspired from her staff and her superiors contributed to her undoing." Hermann’s power has been a "behind-the-scenes question" since late '13, when she "failed to raise the $700,000 needed to fire Flood and pay his buyout." Hermann’s "signature moment" was the Oct. 24 groundbreaking for the fully privately financed $3.1M indoor baseball and softball training complex. But no contract "has been signed to begin construction" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 11/30).

PEER PRESSURE
: Barchi said that his decision to fire Hermann and Flood "was in part a response to the increasingly competitive environment the state university now faces with its entry into the Big Ten." Barchi: "There is a lot of pressure in this league and we have to succeed." He cited the "off-field problems of the football team and a program that was 'not moving in the right direction,' after a losing season" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 11/30). ESPN.com's Josh Moyer wrote Hermann and Flood had "plenty of missteps," but they were "primarily fired Sunday for the on-field product." Moyer: "Let's not pretend otherwise." Hermann also had become a "walking punchline in Piscataway," and she "couldn't make up for her past errors" (ESPN.com, 11/29). Barchi said that Flood is owed $1.4M as "part of a buyout negotiated at the time of his last contract extension ... that is primarily but not fully privately financed." The ASBURY PARK PRESS's Dunleavy notes RU's nine assistant coaches are owed $2.3M on contracts through the '16 season if they are "not retained and do not find other jobs" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 11/30).

STARTING FROM SCRATCH: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Ben Cohen writes Rutgers is "hitting the reset button on an athletic department that had become increasingly unstable." Hermann's "brief tenure at Rutgers was rife was scandal from the day she was hired." It included "allegations of abuse from former players, the mishandling of a commencement speech by the paralyzed Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand and Hermann telling a Rutgers journalism class that she hoped the Star-Ledger newspaper would go out of business" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/30). In New Jersey, Jerry Carino notes Hobbs "is a basketball guy" and was "deeply involved in Seton Hall hoops for many years as a consultant, search committee head and later interim athletic director." He also "helped pave the way for the building" of Prudential Center. There is "little doubt that Hobbs will prioritize the addition of a practice facility to the outdated Rutgers Athletic Center." Hermann "claimed it was a priority, but never came through" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 11/30).

STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
: In Newark, Steve Politi in a front-page piece writes the decision by Barchi was a "long-overdue move that finally removes the leadership vacuum" in the athletics department. Barchi -- who had been criticized for his "inattentiveness to athletics -- had a plan and hit the ground running," which is "exactly what he had to do." Hobbs is a "polished, smart guy with fundraising experience who has a deep understanding of the political landscape in New Jersey (and, make no mistake, Gov. Chris Christie's fingerprints are on this hire)." He will be "comfortable in front of the cameras and being the voice for the athletic department, something Hermann was either incapable or unwilling to do" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 11/30). In New Jersey, Tara Sullivan in a front-page piece writes Barchi's decision "represents the first important step toward fixing an athletic department that has floundered as the stubborn president continued to back the ineffective reign of Hermann." By "finally owning up to the mistake his search committee made two years ago, Barchi has a new opportunity to fill the leadership profile the athletic arm of the school so desperately needs" (Bergen RECORD, 11/30). The ASBURY PARK PRESS's Carino in a front-page piece writes there is "potential in the unconventional move" of hiring Hobbs. He is a "nice guy and a people person," and is "affable, even-tempered and intelligent." Hobbs also is a "Jersey guy," as he "understands the politics and the zeitgeist." Finally, he "understands fundraising and administration." The "one obvious drawback" for Hobbs is "inexperience in the great-white-shark pool of major college football." It is a "big concern, and that part of the job probably will fall on the shoulders" of Brown, the Rutgers BOG Chair. But "for now, credit Barchi for moving decisively and hiring an anti-Hermann" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 11/30).

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