Rutgers Finds New Athletic Director After Almost a Year

After nearly a year spent searching, Rutgers appears to have found a new athletic director.

The school is close to a deal to hire LSU deputy AD and COO Keli Zinn, according to multiple reports. Rutgers’s new president, William Tate, had been in the same role at LSU before taking over at the New Jersey school earlier this month.

Former athletic director Patrick Hobbs resigned in August 2024, citing his health after a recent meeting with his “cardiac team.” In October, it was reported Hobbs resigned the day he was supposed to turn over his devices for an investigation that found Hobbs had an inappropriate relationship with Umme Salim-Beasley, the school’s gymnastics coach. Those findings were released in January. Salim-Beasley was placed on administrative leave shortly after and fired in April.

The role was open so long that the Scarlet Knights had two different interim athletic directors. Ryan Pisarri filled the role until July 8, when he was hired as athletic director at Division III school Tufts. Matt Colagiovanni was named acting AD on July 14.

A week ago, Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano was asked at Big Ten media days about his lack of a permanent boss. 

“I have not spent a lot of time worrying about it,” Schiano said Tuesday. “I have a lot of faith in Amy [Towers], and now President Tate, and the board will choose the right person. Now that President Tate’s on board, now President Tate will handle it. I have total faith that they’re going to pick the right person for Rutgers.”

Before his resignation, Hobbs had the longest continuous tenure for an AD in the Big Ten after being hired in 2015. He hired Steve Pikiell as men’s basketball coach in 2016. In 2021, Pikiell lifted the Scarlet Knights out of mediocrity and led them to their first NCAA tournament berth in 30 years. Hobbs also re-hired Schiano in 2020, bringing the school’s most successful football coach back to campus. 

In May, a federal judge finally approved the House v. NCAA settlement. All Power 4 schools, including Rutgers, have said they will opt into the settlement, which permits schools to share up to $20 million in revenue with athletes. Figuring out how to distribute the $20 million among Rutgers’s athletes will be among Zinn’s first tasks in the job.

The yearlong job opening had become a national punchline as the administration struggled to find a leader to take a Power 4 job in the New York City market.

While the job has been open, Schiano led the Scarlet Knights to their second consecutive bowl game since 2009, which was during his first coaching stint with the school before leaving for the NFL. The men’s basketball team also went 15–17 despite a roster led by two top-five NBA lottery picks in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. 

In April, the school announced it hired search firm Turnkey ZRG to conduct the pursuit for a new athletic director. Brian Lafemina, a former Rutgers diver who previously served as a senior vice president at the NFL was reported to be the top candidate in mid-July, but recently pulled his name from consideration to stay on as an operating partner at private equity firm Arctos. 

Zinn has worked at LSU since 2022 and oversees the football program. Before LSU, Zinn worked at West Virginia as the deputy AD and briefly served as the interim. She also worked for Maryland and the Big East. 

Rutgers and LSU both did not immediately respond to requests for comment.