Rutgers hires former LSU executive Keli Zinn as athletic director after a 1-year vacancy
Zinn had been deputy AD and chief operating officer at LSU since 2022 after stops at West Virginia, Maryland and the Big East. She assumes control of overseeing 24 men's and women's varsity sports on Aug. 6.
'Keli Zinn brings the strategic drive, operational excellence, and championship pedigree we need right now for Rutgers Athletics,' said William F. Tate IV, who took over as Rutgers president on July 1, also coming from LSU. 'Her leadership style resonates deeply with Rutgers' mission — competitiveness on the field, integrity in our practices, and excellence in the student‑athlete experience. She will guide Rutgers into a new era, with forward-looking leadership, tapping into the Rutgers Edge.'
Rutgers has been without a full-time athletic director since Pat Hobbs abruptly resigned last August. Hobbs cited health reasons for his resignation, and a subsequent investigation found he had an improper relationship with a gymnastics coach.
Ryan Pisarri served as interim AD before taking the same post at Tufts University in Boston earlier this month. Matthew Colagiovanni took over in an acting role before Zinn was hired.
Zinn's five-year contract, approved Wednesday by the Rutgers Board of Governors, calls for a salary of $1.35 million in its first year, with $50,000 annual increases. She'll also be paid a $150,000 retention bonus every two years of the term.
One of Zinn's first priorities will be to build Rutgers' name, image and likeness program into a robust, competitive one that can attract top-tier athletes to the New Jersey school. The Scarlet Knights have struggled to generate significant NIL money, especially in the high-profile sports.
Zinn said raising revenue — by identifying new streams and capitalizing on those that already exist — is going to be a consistent focal point.
'It's absolutely a necessity and critical for our success," Zinn said, "but also to do so in a way where the traditional fundraising side of things and the ability to raise capital and support the university capital projects can both thrive together.'
Before going to LSU, Zinn spent more than a decade at West Virginia in various roles, including deputy athletic director from 2016-22. She was assistant AD at Maryland from 2005-10 after being a compliance assistant for the Big East in 2003 and '04.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Inside the Courtland Sutton deal
The Broncos have been securing their key players to long-term contracts. One such player to get a new deal was receiver Courtland Sutton. Due to make $14 million in 2025, Sutton recently signed a four-year, $92 million extension. That's a new-money average of $23 million per year. Here's the full breakdown of the contract, per a source with knowledge of the terms: 1. Signing bonus: $18.5 million. 2. 2025 base salary: $4 million, fully guaranteed. 3. 2026 option bonus: $12 million, fully guaranteed. 4. 2026 base salary: $4.735 million, fully guaranteed. 5. 2026 per-game roster bonus: $765,000 total, fully guaranteed but must be earned. 6. 2027 base salary: $19.235 million, $1 million of which is guaranteed for injury and becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2027 league year. 8. 2027 per-game roster bonus: $765,000 total. 9. 2028 base salary: $20.735 million. 10. 2028 per-game roster bonus: $765,000 total. 11. 2029 base salary: $23.375 million. 12. 2029 per-game roster bonus: $765,000 total. The deal has $40 million fully guaranteed at signing. The other $1 million in injury guarantees vests in 2027. It's clearly a second-tier deal. Good but not among the highest-paid of all receivers. With Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase now north of $40 million, Sutton is at $23 million in new-money APY. From signing, the five-year deal has an annual average of $21.2 million.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Maikel Garcia's solo home run (11)
Maikel Garcia rips a solo home run over the Green Monster, going back-to-back with Vinnie Pasquantino and cutting the Red Sox lead to 8-3
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jakorian Bennett-Thomas Booker trade grades: Who won the Eagles-Raiders deal?
The Philadelphia Eagles and Las Vegas Raiders just pulled off a player-for-player trade, as the Raiders sent cornerback Jakorian Bennett to the Eagles for defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV. The Eagles needed a bit more depth in the secondary, and the Raiders needed a bit more depth on the defensive line. For each player, this is a chance to press for more playing time with their new teams. However, how did these teams grade out with this player-for-player swap? As you can probably expect, there is a real winner in this, and he is not the general manager for Las Vegas. Let's grade this August NFL trade and determine who got the edge on the deal. Eagles grade Yes, the Eagles won this. Of course they did. We're not sure how the Eagles got Bennett, an ascending talent who flashed real potential with the Raiders, without having to give up any draft capital. Durability has been a bit of a concern for the third-year cornerback, but he could thrive in a rotational role and could even push to start at the second outside corner spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell. It's a little trite at this point to pull out the "How did Howie Roseman get away with this?!" sign, but this is a sweet deal for a young player pressing for a higher ceiling. Giving up only Booker, squarely a role player for the Eagles, is a steal for a player who could push for a starting job. Grade: A Raiders grade The player isn't the problem. After the team's surprise release of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, the Raiders needed more depth in the trenches. Booker earned snaps with the Eagles last year in their stacked defensive tackle room. That alone gives him a pretty good inside track to making the Las Vegas roster and earning playing time with his new team. He may well be a nice add for first-year general manager John Spytek. However, the fact that he didn't even get a low-round draft pick to go along with Booker for Bennett, the superior player who could push to start at cornerback for Philadelphia... rookie mistake. The Raiders will probably regret this deal... not for adding Booker, but for only getting a single player out of trading away a rising player on a rookie deal like Bennett. Grade: C+ This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jakorian Bennett-Thomas Booker trade grades: Who won Eagles-Raiders deal?
