Internal Review Finds RU Athletic Dept. Went Unmonitored

Review Finds Rutgers Was Ill-Prepared To Handle Move Toward Big-Time Football

FALLOUT: McCormick, in a written statement responding to the report, said that RU "would take additional steps to 'manage effectively an increasingly successful and fiscally complex athletics program.'" McCormick said that among those actions will be "additional administrative oversight of the athletics department, expanding the size and responsibilities of the university's internal audit department, requiring employment contracts of all coaches include all elements of compensation, as well as his own approval for those compensation packages." McCormick added that the report "acknowledges the changing culture of a rapidly developing NCAA Division I football program that has placed additional stress on the system at Rutgers, and noted the report identified no illegal or unethical activities at Rutgers, nor did it raise concerns about the outcomes of decisions that were made by the university" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 11/20).

CHANGES TO COME: In New Jersey, Erica Harbatkin noted the report "touted many" of McCormick's "plans to increase oversight of athletic department decisions." The report also "recommended an in-depth internal review of existing procedures"  (HOME NEWS TRIBUNE, 11/20). Review committee co-Chair Alfred Koeppe said that the "rapid growth of the athletics department contributed to the troubles he investigated." Koeppe: "You had these stresses that came with the very quick maturation of the program itself, and you had a structure that had weaknesses in it. ... I think the structure had its flaws right from the start because the internal controls were really not there. And then you had some challenges that clearly the athletic director had in terms of operating in an insular manner" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/20).

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