Rutgers Investigating Pat Hobbs for “Inappropriate” Relationship
Rutgers University has opened up an investigation over allegations of an “inappropriate, consensual relationship” involving former Athletic Director Pat Hobbs according to reports from NJ Advanced Media at the tail…
PISCATAWAY, NJ – DECEMBER 04: Greg Schiano, right, holds up a jersey presented to him by AD Pat Hobbs after being introduced as the new head football coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on December 4, 2019 in Piscataway, New Jersey.
(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)Rutgers University has opened up an investigation over allegations of an "inappropriate, consensual relationship" involving former Athletic Director Pat Hobbs according to reports from NJ Advanced Media at the tail end of last week.
The news comes off the heels of Pat Hobbs' abrupt resignation last month, which, at the time was linked to health-related issues.
According to the initial reports posted on August 30 by NJ Advanced Media, a link is alleged to exist between Hobbs' resignation and reports of "Chaos" and a "toxic" environment surrounding the Rutgers Gymnastics program and its head coach, Umme Salim-Beasley.
The story states that:
" ... [S]even former Rutgers gymnasts and one who remains on the team described a program in chaos, plagued by allegations of favoritism, bullying and revenge by Salim-Beasley."
Furthermore, the story states that former gymnasts filed complaints about Salim-Beasley to the very top of the Rutgers Athletics program in Pat Hobbs, who, in turn, was "dismissive" according to the report.
"Gymnasts allege Salim-Beasley was unsympathetic toward athletes who experienced mental health issues and physical injuries, tried to take retribution on gymnasts who raised concerns about her coaching methods, and kept churning a roster consistently among the biggest and least successful in the Big Ten.
"The former gymnasts said Hobbs was dismissive when they sought help from him, yet at the same time they noted that Hobbs was a frequent visitor to team meets, practices, and events, and appeared to take an unusual interest in the program."
Salim-Beasely is still the head coach of the gymnastics program according to the report. She is in her eighth season as head of that program.
In a related report, Governor Phil Murphy, who was in attendance at Rutgers opening football game on August 29, stated on the record at an unrelated event on Friday, that he was disturbed by the story.
“I know there is an investigation underway, so I don’t want to preempt that. I have no insights into that. But that was really ugly and very disturbing," Governor Murphy told NJ Advanced Media.
Ryan Pisarri has taken over the role of Athletic Director on an interim basis.
At the time of his resignation on August 16, Hobbs stepped away with an Athletic program seeing great success both on the field and in the classroom.
- Men's hoops has the second best recruiting class in the country this season as Head Coach Steve Pikiell continues his masterful work turning Rutgers into an annual March Madness player. Rutgers has appeared in two NCAA tournaments in recent years.
- With the return of Greg Schiano as head coach of the football program in 2020, the Scarlet Knights have turned things around in a few short years. Last season Rutgers won the Pinstripe Bowl. This year they are off to a 1-0 start.
- Rutgers men's soccer won the Big Ten title in 2022.
- Rutgers field hockey won the Big Ten title in 2021.
- Rutgers women's soccer has been in the NCAA Tournament for 12 straight seasons.
Those are a number of the on-field accomplishments. And certainly, more great things are to come for Rutgers sports.
Athan Kaliakmanis, Kyle Monanagai Power Rutgers in ’24 Opener
In his first test as the new starting quarterback of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Athan Kaliakmanis passed with flying colors.
The former Minnesota Golden Gopher who came to Rutgers in the off-season after entering the transfer portal, was impressive in engineering the Scarlet Knights for the first time in-game action, as Rutgers plowed past a game Howard Bison squad, 44-7 in Piscataway on Thursday night.
"I think he handled the offense well. He got himself out of trouble a couple of times. Those are the plays nobody notices," Head Coach Greg Schiano said. "I thought his accuracy showed. I think he will get better and better as we get more into a flow."
Kaliakmanis' final line reads: 15-of-24 for 147 yards and three touchdowns. His longest pass of the day was a 34-yard swing pass to Samuel Brown V that resulted in a touchdown in the third quarter. He managed the game well, looked poised, and more importantly didn't turn the ball over.
It helped that Kaliakmanis had the power running of Kyle Monangai behind him.
The Rutgers Captain, and reigning Big Ten leading rusher from 2023, picked up right where he left off in the Pinstripe Bowl eight months ago, gashing the Bison for 165 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown.
After a slow first quarter, Monangai turned on the jets in midway through the second quarter when he found a split in the Howard defense and sprinted down the sideline for a 39-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.
Six plays later Kaliakmanis found receiver Dymere Miller in the flat on second and goal for the touchdown to push Rutgers out front 14-0.
The third quarter was all Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights outgained Howard 132 - 64 and held the Bison to three first downs in the period. Rutgers hit pay-dirt twice, once on a Monangai seven-yard scamper with 8:06 to go in the quarter. Later, Kaliakmanis connected with Brown down the sideline for a game-breaking, 34-yard touchdown pass to give Rutgers a 31-7 lead.
The victory cements Rutgers' seventh consecutive season-opening victory. It also marked Rutgers' sixth consecutive victory over Howard. Rutgers will host the Akron Zips on Saturday, September 7 at noon.
