Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann, who apologized to Penn State officials this week for the "regrettable actions" of some fans at Saturday's game, made her own joke about the child sex scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Following a NJ Advance Media investigation that included statements from more than a half-dozen people inside the Rutgers athletic department, university officials acknowledged Hermann made the Sandusky-related remark at a staff meeting last fall.

"Julie's comment was an off the cuff response to a give-and-take interaction urging the fundraising team to reach out and touch the donors,'' said Pete McDonough, senior vice president for external affairs, when pressed for a statement from Rutgers President Robert Barchi. "There probably isn't a person alive today who hasn't made an impromptu remark in a private meeting that probably shouldn't have been said. Even taken out of context, this single comment was not directed at Penn State, its students, staff or faculty.''

Hermann, through spokesman Tom Luicci, declined comment. On Thursday, Luicci texted a NJ Advance Media reporter to cancel a meeting that had been scheduled earlier in the week.

Multiple people interviewed by NJ Advance Media -- who would speak only on the condition of anonymity because they feared retribution -- said Hermann was talking about "reaching out and touching the donors" of the program and her punchline was to not do it "in a Sandusky way."

"Everyone looked at each other and said, 'Say what?'" said a Rutgers official at the meeting.

According to a second Rutgers employee, Hermann told her staff they are "all ambassadors for Rutgers. We have to reach out to our donors, fans, everyone, and we need to touch them. Not in a Jerry Sandusky-type way."

A third Rutgers official called Hermann's statement "a simple remark but one that resonated with us."

"I know there were two or three of us that looked at each other, and I said, "You gotta be kidding going down that road," the employee said. "Comparing relationships with donors or with people in organizations that we want to drum up and get money from in that relationship and saying we have to get close to them and touch them? And she goes 'not like Sandusky.' "

It's the latest in a series of missteps -- detailed in the slideshow above -- that have marked Hermann's rocky 17 months as athletic director. Nevertheless, McDonough issued a statement that strongly endorses Hermann's job performance.

"The University is not going to let a spontaneous, offhand remark obscure the fact that Julie is doing a great job as Athletics Director,'' McDonough said. "Bringing change always ruffles some feathers, but the results are clear -- ticket sales are setting new records for home and away games, the R-Care program is serving our student athletes' academic, social and personal well-being, and our fundraising up.''

On Monday, Hermann and Barchi offered a public rebuke for a handful of fans who displayed banners or wore T-shirts that read "Ped State" during last Saturday's game between Rutgers and Penn State, the Scarlet Knights' Big Ten debut. Two images of the shirts, which were in reference to the Sandusky pedophile case, were unintentionally posted to the university Facebook page but later taken down once officials realized the mistake.

Hermann said she spoke with Penn State AD Sandy Barbour personally, and issued a statement that read: "On behalf of Rutgers University and the Athletic Department, we would like to apologize for the regrettable actions of a handful of Rutgers fans on Saturday that do not convey the message of good, competitive spirit that we look forward to having with our new Big Ten rival Penn State University. ... I would like to apologize equally to the Penn State University fans, as well as Rutgers fans that were subjected to this classless display that does not represent the ethos of our university, athletic department or fan base.''

On Monday, Barchi offered an apology of his own, writing to Penn State President Eric Baron.

"I write to you with a great sense of embarrassment and outrage over the actions of a very small handful of our fans whose behavior ... reflected neither the values nor the traditions of Rutgers University," Barchi wrote. "Frankly, the behavior of this small group of fans was abhorrent to me personally, and runs counter to the values we hold deeply here at Rutgers."

Multiple Rutgers officials who attended the meeting said more than 100 department employees were present, from head and assistant coaches to custodial staff. The employees said the annual meeting serves as a chance for Hermann to address the entire department and state her vision for the upcoming school year.

It took place in the Brown Recruiting Pavilion, located in High Point Solutions Stadium, and Hermann made the remarks while addressing her department staff from the podium, according to those in attendance.

As for the timing of why members of the athletics department decided either to come forward or acknowledge Hermann's remark when contacted by NJ Advance Media, one employee said it was "hypocritical" for the athletic director "to come out on your high horse and apologize for their behavior and yet that was (allegedly said during) her initial (staff) conference making light of the situation."

"To me," the employee said, "that's probably worse than having (an offensive) flag or having a T-shirt."

As one of the state's highest-paid employees, Hermann earns $450,000 annually. Under the terms of a contract that expires on June 30, 2018, she is eligible "to receive annual incentive compensation up to $50,000 based upon achievement of academic, athletic and financial performance thresholds established by the university president."

Following an open public records act request, the University Custodian of Record's office said, "At this point in time, Ms. Hermann has not received incentive payments (bonus) since her start date at Rutgers.''

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.