Robert E. Mulcahy III

Robert E. Mulcahy III is the director of athletics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Mulcahy attended Millburn High School in Millburn, New Jersey, and Caldwell, Dave. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E5D81531F937A35751C1A9639C8B63&scp=18&sq=%22millburn+high+school%22&st=nyt "IN PERSON; Renaissance Man"] , "The New York Times", December 4, 2005. Accessed January 24, 2008. "Mulcahy, who graduated from Millburn High School and lives in Basking Ridge, did much of the groundwork that let Schiano, after a few tough seasons, become a success in his home state -- their home state."] graduated from Villanova University in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in History. Since arriving in 1998, Mulcahy is noted for having raised the Athletic Department's endowment, in obtaining funding from the New Jersey legislature for a massive renovation of Rutgers athletic facilities, and in getting increased television coverage for the Rutgers' Scarlet Knights football, long regarded as one of the worst programs in NCAA Division I-A competition. [http://www.scarletknights.com/staff/mulcahy.asp Robert E. Mulcahy III: Director of Intercollegiate Athletics] at www.ScarletKnights.com (Official Website of Rutgers Intercollegiate Athletics), published by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Accessed 25 January 2007.] In late 2008. as reports of gross fiscal mismanagement of the Rutgers sports programs grew louder, so did voices calling for Mulcahy's termination. Notably, on October 5, 2008, the Home News & Tribune -- Rutgers' "local" newspaper -- editorially called for his dismissal. [http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20081005/OPINION01/810050316/-1/newsfront]

Before coming to Rutgers, Mulcahy served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, raising the profile state's athletic facilities at the Meadowlands by creating the Kickoff Classic, attracting the Army-Navy game, hosting several NCAA Basketball tournaments, and negotiating contracts to host the New Jersey Devils (National Hockey League), New York Jets (National Football League), New York Giants (NFL), and MetroStars (Major League Soccer).. Newspapers reported that drastically falling revenues and chronic overspending led to Mulcahy's dismissal by Republican Governor Christine Whitman, who, in a deal with Democratic legislative leaders, was persuaded to appoint Mulcahy Athletics Director of Rutgers University. Though the appointment was reportedly made in defiance of the wishes of Francis L. Lawrence, Mulcahy would ultimately survive the dismissal of Lawrence himself from the university presidency. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEED9143DF936A35751C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1]

Mulcahy has made significant upgrades in many areas of the athlete tutoring and supervision program. He was a leader in innovating the "class checker" system, which pays students with clipboards to stand outside classrooms and "eyeball into class" scholarship athletes who might otherwise be reluctant to attend.

Under Mulcahy’s leadership, Rutgers athletes have been heavily promoted in Athletics Department public relations material as paragons of community involvement. The Athletics Department has regularly been able to circulate press releases announcing their participation in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee annual Holiday Toy Drive, Student-Athlete Blood Drives, the Read Across America program, and area hospital visits.

Foremost among the public relations materials generated by the department is the Annual Report, which chronicles the division's achievements. This was produced for the first time ever following the 1998-99 academic year under Mulcahy’s direction. Critics have maintained, however, that Mulcahy maintains a crew of public relations personnel who flood web venues with Athletics Department boilerplate praising his sports operation, as well as immediately deleting material bringing to light inconvenient truths about the Athletics Department and Mulcahy himself. In private, he has reportedly claimed that his "spin control" team is among the most efficient in NJ state politics, very often spotting and deleting anything unfavorable to its boss within seconds of its posting on the internet.

In the 2005-06 academic year, the Scarlet Knights’ football team finished with a 7-4 regular season record, a third-place finish in the BIG EAST Conference, and made its first post-season appearance in many years in the Insight Communications Bowl. Mulcahy cited this achievement when defending his 2007 decision to eliminate six varsity teams in the "participatory" sports -- including men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, and lightweight and heavyweight crew -- so as to devote more money to such projects as Hale Center upgrades and football stadium expansion. His elimination of the six teams has, nonetheless, run into massive opposition. [http://www.soscoalition.org/]

Mulcahy was a leader in the attempt to rescue the BIG EAST Conference in the wake of defections by Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. Though widely reported as having been humiliated by Miami Athletics Director Paul Dee in negotiations leading to the breakup of the conference, Mulcahy set out with notable determination to find football schools willing to fill the slots vacated by three top Big East teams. Though many objected that the extremely low academic standing of those he brought in -- the University of South Florida, Cincinnati, and Louisville -- was a disgrace to a university with Rutgers' history and traditions, Mulcahy received praise from the Board of Governors and members of the Scarlet R boosters' club for having helped keep the BIG EAST in existence.

Mulcahy came to Rutgers on April 15, 1998, after a 19-year tenure as President and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. Under Mulcahy's leadership, the NJSEA developed into the nation's premier sports and entertainment venue. Among his noteworthy achievements at the Meadowlands included getting contracts to host eight NCAA Men's Basketball Eastern Regionals and the last Final Four ever to be held in an Arena, in 1996. Mulcahy led the negotiations that resulted in the NHL’s Devils, the NFL’s Jets, and Major League Soccer’s MetroStars playing in the Meadowlands.

Mulcahy's lifelong passion for professional sports, and his strong commitment to entertainment marketing, has not gone unnoticed. The New York Times described his tenure with the NJSEA as one of "fervor and foresight, establishing the Meadowlands as one of the nation's leading sports and entertainment complexes." The Newark Star Ledger hailed the holding of the NCAA Final Four in New Jersey as "the miracle of the Meadowlands."

Mulcahy serves on the Board of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, is Chair of its Awards Committee, and is an honorary member of the American Football Coaches' Association.He has received the Medal of Excellence, the Alumni Medal, and the James "Jumbo" Elliot Achievement Award from his alma mater. Among other honors, his most prized awards include the Knight of St. Gregory medal, received from Pope John Paul II, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Mulcahy was a long time resident of Mendham, where he served as mayor. [Litsky, Frank. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEED9143DF936A35751C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 "COLLEGES; Rutgers Hires Mulcahy to Improve Sports Image"] , "The New York Times", February 5, 1998. Accessed January 24, 2008. "Mulcahy lives in Mendham, where he was once the Mayor."] He and his wife Terry relocated to Basking Ridge. They are the parents of seven children, and also have 11 grandchildren.

ee also

* Rutgers University
* Athletics at Rutgers University

References

External links

* [http://www.rutgers.edu Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey]
* [http://www.scarletknights.com www.ScarletKnights.com: Official Website of Rutgers Intercollegiate Athletics]