Former Rutgers University athletic director Pat Hobbs, 64, quit his position at the school after a nine-year tenure in August 2024, citing concerns for his health. However, per a report from App, the director sought to restructure his contract in hopes of a raise atop his $1.1 million annual salary just before he announced his decision.
Furthermore, according to the New York Post, Hobbs's “improper, consensual” relationship with gymnastics coach Umme Salim-Beasley was also questioned just before his departure. According to a former employee, "It was an open secret." Hobbs was slated to appear at a hearing on the same just before his departure.
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Students describe Pat Hobbs' tryst with his mistress as "really weird"
According to the Sports Business Journal, the school had its eye on the same “long before his abrupt resignation left a leadership vacuum in the department,” sources told the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Per the New York Post, Hobbs hired Salim-Beasley on May 11, 2018, to coach the women's team. However, things eventually took a romantic turn with them.
Pat Hobbs allegedly spent more time than allowed around the gymnastics program. Furthermore, he made his way down to where Salim-Beasley was at least five times over eleven months. NJ Advance Media’s report shows that their tryst can be traced back to last summer. Both Hobbs and Salim-Beasley are married and have kids.
As the NY Post reported, one instance in particular stood out. Last winter, Pat Hobbs sat down for a tarot card reading at an event held by his department. That's when the reader probed him on what's most important in his life, prompting him to look toward his mistress and say "love." In reflecting on the moment, one gymnast said,
"It was so weird. It’s really hard to put into words, but they were staring each other in the eye, sitting right next to each other. You could feel some type of tension between them. All my teammates looked at each other with the weirdest look like, ‘What is going on here?’”
Yet another described it as "really weird." As per Rutgers’ discrimination and harassment policy,
"In addition, the University also strongly discourages romantic, dating, intimate and/or sexual relationships between University employees where there is an imbalance of power because one individual is in a position to make decisions which may affect the educational opportunities, employment or career of the other. These relationships include supervisor/subordinate relationships and any other relationships between individuals wherein one individual has the power to make decisions that may have an impact, either direct or indirect, on the employment, career or educational opportunities of the other."
Per Sports Media Journal, by mid-June, Rutgers Board of Regents Chair Mark Angelson had informed Pat Hobbs of the school's decision to "launch an investigation into an improper, consensual relationship between him and a coach in his department.”
The official hearing was consequently slated for August 16, during which Hobbs had to "turn over all electronic devices used for university business.” However, Hobbs resigned before the meeting could take place.
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