By Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

It didn't take long for Pat Hobbs to make his first hire as Rutgers' director of athletics. Six days after he was formally introduced as the Rutgers AD, Hobbs hired Chris Ash to take over the football program.

Early in the coaching search, Hobbs was pressed on the pressure that comes with hiring the person overseeing the Scarlet Knights' marquee program.

"I’ve made a lot of hires and I’ve made hires where there’s been a lot of pressure to make hires,'' Hobbs said on Nov. 30, 2015. "And I’m confident I hired very good people — people who are the right people at the right time for Seton Hall. So I’m confident and I’m taking the advice of as many people as I can. It doesn’t take long to put together a very long list and then you start asking questions and you start (narrowing) and saying, ‘You know what? This is somebody who could be really interesting and really good for Rutgers, now let’s get to talk to them.’ ''

Hobbs has taken that approach with all of his key hires in the 18 months that he has presided over the Rutgers athletics department. Here is a look at his most notable appointments:

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Chris Ash

During an early-morning teleconference with the Rutgers Board of Governors on Dec. 7, 2015, Hobbs said he appreciated the irony that his first formal briefing with the university's top decision makers occurred as he was appointing the new football coach.

"The search for a new football coach at Rutgers began on Monday (Nov. 30) and we had the assistance of an outside consulting firm,'' Hobbs told the governing board during the meeting. "It was very intense week of efforts, which resulted in us identifying Chris Ash to be our head coach. Chris has a phenomenal reputation across all aspects of college football, and he also has a tremendous reputation as a man of integrity and character and so I'm delighted to bring him forward today to you.''

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Rutgers signed Ash to a 5-year, $11 million guaranteed contract. The deal includes bonuses based upon achievement of annual performance and academic incentives established by the university. Per the terms of a resolution passed by Rutgers, university President Robert Barchi and Hobbs consulted with the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics regarding the employment and compensation of Ash.

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Ash struggled to a 2-10 record in his first campaign, but Hobbs said following the season he had "100 percent confidence'' in the former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator to turn around the football program in the years ahead.

"No doubt at all — 100 percent confidence in Chris, 100 percent confidence in his staff,'' Hobbs said on the one-year anniversary of his own hiring last November. "I know (the frustration) because I read the comments and the blogs of what people are saying, but he's put together a spectacular group. ... What you see in all of them is they know the process that's required here. They know that this is going to take time. It's going to take years to build our football program. But you have to go through these moments. It makes winning ultimately all the more sweet. But 100 percent confidence.''

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The 205 RU athletes lauded by B1G for academic excellence in 2016-17

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Steve Pikiell

One day after the Rutgers men's basketball team wrapped up its 2015-16 campaign with a 7-25 record, Hobbs fired third-year coach Eddie Jordan.

"I have decided that we need new leadership for our men’s basketball program,'' Hobbs said on March 10, 2016.

Twelve days later, Hobbs hired ex-Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell to take over the long-struggling men's basketball program.

"Everywhere Steve Pikiell has been, he’s won,'' Hobbs said then. "But most impressive is that everywhere he’s been, they started at the bottom and rose to the top. He will bring that same dedication and energy to build a successful program at Rutgers.''

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Like he did when he appointed Ash, Hobbs addressed the university's Board of Governors, which rubber-stamped Hobbs' hiring of Pikiell.

"It's an exciting day for Rutgers University and Rutgers athletics,'' he said on March 22, 2016. "Steve is an outstanding individual who has a long track record of being with struggling programs and turning them into winning programs.'' Hobbs, who saw Rhode Island coach Danny Hurley, ex-George Washington coach Mike Lonergan and ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams withdraw their candidacy during the search, said there were two rounds of interviews and five days into the search "it was very clear to me that Steve Pikiell was the right person to lead our men's basketball program.''

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Both university President Robert Barchi and Board of Governors Chairman Greg Brown lauded Hobbs' efforts in the nine-day search process.

"I'm delighted,'' Barchi said, "with the recommendation.''

"Let me personally extend to Pat my thanks for your leadership and tireless, around-the-clock process over the last two weeks, where you have been a tremendous catalyst on many fronts, and very much appreciated by the Board and certainly by me,'' Brown added. "So congratulations on a job well done.''

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Pikiell exceeded expectations in his first campaign, as Rutgers more than doubled its overall wins total (15) and tripled its conference victory total (3) from 2015-16 in addition to earning the program’s first Big Ten regular-season road win and conference-tournament triumph.

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How did the Scarlet Knights fare in 2016-17?

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

What did Hobbs learn from his marquee hires?

Hobbs understands better than anyone that in three or four years he's going to be judged by how success Ash and Pikiell are at turning around their respective programs.

Asked what he learned from those hiring processes, Hobbs told NJ Advance Media last November:

"One, you do your due diligence and learn everything you can about people because these are hard jobs. Chris Ash is absolutely the right person, the perfect person, for our football program. Because it is going to be challenging, people are going to need to be patient. And not everybody is going to be. I can certainly understand the frustration people have. As Chris and I said on Day 1, we're not going to judge it on wins and losses but how do you build a program? Are we doing all the things that we need to do on a daily basis to build a program? And, if everybody could be as close of an observer of what he's done in the past year as I am, they would see that he's putting all of the right pieces in place to be successful as we move down the road. It's challenging right now because he has to do recruiting, he has to (develop) the players once they arrive.

"You always try to hire people of character and integrity. Both Chris and Steve (Pikiell) are those types of people. And I'll always work to do that.''

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Matt Colagiovanni

At a time when Rutgers is renovating playing fields and building new facilities, Matt Colagiovanni's role is crucial. Colagiovanni has worked in the Rutgers athletics department since 2001, but was promoted to senior associate AD for facilities, events and operations not long after Hobbs took over.

Colagiovanni wears many hats for Rutgers athletics, overseeing the administration, supervision and coordination of scheduling, operations, logistics and maintenance for the department of facilities and operations.

These days, he's busy overseeing the $8.5 million renovation of the Rutgers football program's practice facility.

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Details on $8.5 million Rutgers practice facility renovation

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Jerry Recco

In October 2016, after Chris Carlin traded his Rutgers men's basketball play-by-play duties for a daily sports-talk radio show in Philadelphia, Jerry Recco was tapped as the new radio voice for Rutgers men's basketball.

“We are very excited to welcome Jerry into the Scarlet Knight family,'' Hobbs said of Recco, who is best known as the updates reporter on the popular Boomer & Carton show on WFAN.

“Considering his experience, knowledge of college sports and Jersey roots, he is a perfect fit. There's tremendous momentum under Coach Pikiell, and we are thrilled Jerry will be doing our play-by-play.’’’

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Who were the best RU athletes in 2016-17?

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Sarah Baumgartner

Hobbs wasn't the Rutgers AD who hired Sarah Baumgartner, the highly respected administrator who Julie Hermann lured from Missouri to serve as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development in December 2013.

But credit Hobbs for elevating Baumgartner — the freshly minted NCAA Division I FBS Administrator of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators — to the No. 2 role in Rutgers Athletics.

“This is a critically important time for Rutgers Athletics,” Hobbs said in June 2016 after naming Baumgartner as the Rutgers Deputy AD. "We need to build on the excitement around our program, to continue the positive momentum, and to execute on a plan to reach new heights. Sarah has already demonstrated tremendous leadership and I have the utmost trust and confidence in her. She is a skilled leader and we will all benefit from her efforts in the years ahead.''

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Future AD? Baumgartner says she has a B1G job to complete for RU

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Thank you athletic scholarship donors and season ticket holders!! You are game changers for our student-athletes! #Impact #RFamily https://t.co/YvvZAnBDiu — Rich Knupp (@RichKnupp) May 18, 2017

Rich Knupp

Hobbs filled Baumgartner's shoes by tapping Richard Knupp as Rutgers' senior associate athletic director for development last September.

A Dartmouth graduate who earned a Master's degree in finance from Lehigh, Knupp leads the Rutgers athletic department's fundraising efforts, executing strategy on capital and the $100 million "R B1G" campaign.

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Brendan Burger

The fact that Burger was lured by Hobbs from UCLA last March is no coincidence. During Burger's time as the director of equipment operations for UCLA football, the Pac-12 program was an adidas school.

Rutgers is set to become just that, after signing a six-year deal with the apparel and athletic accessories company last February.

Burger, who oversees the Rutgers football program's equipment operations, is responsible for purchasing, ordering, fitting, maintenance and distribution of all Scarlet Knights football equipment.

A Somers, N.Y., native, he previously worked in the NFL as an assistant equipment manager for the New York Jets in the late 2000s.

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Financial details of adidas deal

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Rutgers Today | YouTube.com

Todd Nichols

After long-time band director Tim Smith relinquished his duties, Hobbs sought out for an energetic new leader for a 225-member ensemble that provides entertainment at the Scarlet Knights’ football and basketball games.

Enter Todd Nichols, who will join the university July 1 as the new Rutgers band director. A 40-year old Hillsborough native, Nichols previously led the nationally recognized Roxbury High School marching band program.

Under his direction, Roxbury’s band performed during the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show featuring Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at MetLife Stadium.

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Yvette Rooks

Rutgers’ sports medicine program has been under scrutiny for more than a year, as the NCAA alleged that Rutgers employed practices and procedures that violated the institution's drug-testing policy as part of a series of violations.

As a result, Rutgers overhauled oversight and reporting lines of the drug test program and earlier this year hired Rooks as its new chief medical officer for athletics.

Rooks arrives with impressive credentials, earning the title of "Top Doctor" in the specialty of Family Medicine by Baltimore magazine last year.

Most recently, she was the head team physician of the Maryland School of Medicine, working the sideline at Terrapin football games.

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Michael Szul

In late May, Szul was announced as Rutgers' senior associate athletic director for finance. In his role as Rutgers athletics' chief financial officer, Szul is charged with developing a long-term strategic financial plan for Rutgers Athletics that addresses its operational budget, reserves, anticipated gifts and endowments, debt service and future capital needs.

Like his predecessor, Janine Purcaro (who retired earlier this year), Szul will have his hand in business agreements, negotiations and contracts and also oversee human resources.

Szul has nearly 20 years of administrative athletics experience that includes financial management, infrastructure enhancement, capital project oversight and ticketing. For the past seven years, he worked at West Virginia, managing a $90 million budget while playing a key role in the department’s transition to the Big 12 Conference.

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Rick Thorpe

On June 12, Thorpe will replace Geoff Brown (who was dismissed by Hobbs in early January) as as Rutgers' new marketing chief.

As senior associate athletic director for external affairs and strategic communications, Thorpe will oversee the strategic direction for strengthening the Rutgers athletic brand and produce an aligned marketing plan for all 24 sports.

He will also be responsible for revenue generation, game-day atmosphere, digital and social media strategy, and department internal and external communications efforts.

Thorpe is also tasked with serving as liaison to multi-media rights holders and developing comprehensive sales, marketing and communication plans for ticket sales.

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"We are very pleased and fortunate to welcome Michael, Rick and their families into the Rutgers community,'' Hobbs said in a press release on May 26. "Both Michael and Rick have extensive experience at BCS conference institutions. More important, they have skill sets to further our mission.

"As the only BCS school in the nation’s largest media market, our future at Rutgers is incredibly bright. The additions of Michael and Rick will help us to develop and realize this potential.''

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Search firms

A common theme in Hobbs’ hires has been his appointment of firms to assist in the search.

Rutgers paid the Eastman & Beaudine consulting firm $135,000 for assistance in both the football and men's basketball head-coaching searches in 2015-16. The Plano, Tex.-based firm earned $75,000 for guidance in a six-day search that resulted in Ash's hiring and $60,000 in a nine-day search that led to Pikiell's appointment.

After Rutgers parted ways with Purcaro and Brown last January, Rutgers paid Haddonfield, N.J.-based Turnkey Search a combined $150,000 — $75,000 apiece — for assistance in its athletics Chief Financial Officer and Chief Marketing Officer searches, according to a contracts obtained by NJ Advance Media.

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