Rutgers Univ. AD Julie Hermann yesterday said that she was "grateful to have survived her own troubles and was eager to move past them," according to Tom Luicci of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Hermann talked "about 'strategic plans' and new ideas as she sets about leading the school into the Big Ten" next year. But with a "sharp awareness, she recognizes what she has gone through to get to this point." Hermann said, "I think basically the first month I was burned by fire. So after that, there’s nothing to do but focus on what’s best for Rutgers. Everyone around me wants to go forward, and that’s what I want. So it feels 10 times better to me to be on day eight on the job and to be focused on the students and the coaches." She added, "Right now is the beginning of the deep dive into really all of the subject matter it takes to get organized and get strategic about what we’ll do as we prepare to go into the Big Ten." Luicci notes the immediate items on Hermann's to-do list "deal with fundraising and improvements to the athletic facilities, specifically the school’s basketball arena, which is in need of a major overhaul." Hermann said, "I’m starting to get up to speed on what needs to happen, what’s in the hopper and what the funding model will be" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 6/25). Hermann: “In my interview, I campaigned on values. That’s the irony of this. I had an incredible opportunity to be part of building an athletic department (at Louisville) that started at the bottom. We built it on four words: class, integrity, humble and hungry. That’s been part of my ethos all along" (Bergen RECORD, 6/25).
