Jason Baum, an integral piece of the Rutgers football fabric for nearly a decade, resigned his position Saturday as the athletics department's chief communications officer.

Baum, who has been the chief spokesperson for the Scarlet Knights football program since 2006, said in an email he was "fortunate to have the opportunity to work with so many outstanding student-athletes, coaches and staff along with the dedicated members of the media.''

"It is difficult to put into words how special my time at Rutgers has been, especially with the friendships I will keep for a lifetime,'' Baum wrote. "Nine seasons, 116 consecutive football games and eight bowl games — it has been an unbelievable experience here 'On the Banks.' ''



In addition to serving as spokesperson for Rutgers football and the athletics department, Baum was credited with many of the enhancements of the school's athletics website, ScarletKnights.com, including the development of its online digital network called RVision and other television, radio, internet and social media opportunities for the school.

"I've never known anyone who worked harder or cared more for Rutgers and its fans than Jason Baum,'' said Jon Newman, a prominent Rutgers athletics donor who for the past year has spearheaded the fundraising efforts to enhance the RVision program. "He and Colin Osborne are the reason that Rutgers fans have access to as much daily content and information as they do today. I worked very closely with him over five years on RVision and saw how hard he and others worked. He will be sorely missed.''

In his role as Rutgers football administrator for the past two years, Baum had a hand in the Scarlet Knights' game scheduling and was the executive producer for the "RFootball Show'' and the "15 Days of Spring'' documentaries on the Rutgers football program.

Baum also promoted the successful All-American campaigns for more than 15 Rutgers football players, including Ray Rice, who finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2006.

"Obviously the success of Rutgers football starts with Greg Schiano, but Jason also played a role in that success," said former Rutgers deputy athletic director Kevin MacConnell. "He was responsible for a great deal of the exposure and was always adding to it. He created R Vision and the Rutgers Combine Show and always put Rutgers ahead of the curve. He has a great relationship with the media and I know they respect the job he does. Rutgers is going to miss him."

Perhaps most notably, Baum oversaw a sports information department that was nationally lauded by the Football Writers Association of America. The FWAA praised the Rutgers athletics program as part of its Super 11 Awards, which rewards the collegiate programs that "exemplify excellent media relations,'' from 2009-11.

"Jason Baum is overwhelmingly well-respected,'' said Lenn Robbins, past president of the FWAA and former New York Post national college football writer, who now serves as senior beat reporter for the Brooklyn Nets. "He is the epitome of a hard-working, professional new-age sports information director who believes in working with the media, not against the media, to make for the best coverage that a university can have. That's what he provided (for Rutgers).''

In his role as senior communications director for athletics, Baum helped all of Rutgers' athletics teams gain increased exposure through RVision and other social media initiatives. In 2010, Rutgers was the first school in the country to broadcast its football Pro Day live on the internet.

A York, Pa., native who graduated from West Virginia University, Baum and his wife Andrea reside in New Brunswick. He declined an opportunity to be interviewed Saturday, but in his email said it was his "ultimate pleasure to work'' with Rutgers' current and past football players.

"Athletics directors and university presidents are fond of saying that an athletics department is a university's front porch into a lot of homes. But the athletes are the ambassadors of that university,'' Robbins said. "You never hear of a Rutgers kid saying something stupid. They carry themselves with the kind of respect and dignity that you hope your own kids carry themselves with. That doesn't happen by accident.''

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