Sports
Ohio AD Jim Schaus Was Contacted For Rutgers Position
< < Back toRutgers University announced Wednesday the hiring of Julie Hermann as its new athletic director. The former Louisville AD will replace Tim Pernetti after he resigned on April 9, three days removed from the firing of men’s basketball coach Mike Rice for controversial actions done in practice.
Current Ohio AD Jim Schaus was among those contacted in regards to his interest to the position, but he did not take any initiative into pursuing the position.
Mycentraljersey.com Rutgers beat writer Keith Sargeant listed Schaus as a candidate expected to be interviewed in his article published on May 8.
Sargeant declined to comment on who his sources were, but said, “I stand behind every word of my reporting throughout the six-week AD search.”
Ohio Athletics released a statement Thursday in regards to the report, stating, “Jim Schaus was not a candidate for the Rutgers Athletic Director position.”
Rutgers' Kate Sweeney and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Richard Edwards, co-chairs of a 26-person selection committee, reportedly completed the interviews last Thursday and Friday. Both were unavailable to give information on the process and outcomes.
Schaus was named Ohio’s Director of Athletics on April 7, 2008 after serving the same position at Wichita State for nine years.
He has helped build Ohio into a very successful program in the Mid-American Conference. Since Schaus' hiring, Ohio Athletics has received several accolades, including being ranked 12th nationally in 2010 for economic efficiency based on resourceful investment and team success. He also has balanced a budget that was at one time $2.3 million annual deficit.
Under Schaus’ guidance, the athletic program has significantly improved. The Ohio football team has won back-to-back bowl games and the men’s basketball team went to the Sweet Sixteen in 2012 and the NIT in 2013. The average student-athlete GPA has also risen to 3.1.