Fansided

Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann attempts to win over Tim Pernetti

By Andrew Coppens

Nov 20, 2012; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti at a press conference announcing the move of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from the Big East conference to the Big Ten conference at the Hale Center. Mandatory Credit: Patti Sapone/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2012; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti at a press conference announcing the move of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from the Big East conference to the Big Ten conference at the Hale Center. Mandatory Credit: Patti Sapone/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports /
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To say it hasn’t been the smoothest of transitions in to the Big Ten for Rutgers would be a vast understatement. Part of that was the unpopular forced resignation of former athletic director Tim Pernetti. As Rutgers officially entered the Big Ten, new AD Julie Hermann found herself still playing catch up with the fans and overcoming Pernetti’s popularity.

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Pernetti cast a long shadow over the program because he was seen as what it meant to be Rutgers. He not only spent five years as the athletic director, but he was also a member of the Scarlet Knights football team.

Since his firing and Hermann’s hiring it’s been part of her mission to win over the pro-Pernetti crowd.

“I think people love Tim,” Hermann said Tuesday before Rutgers’ Big Ten celebration, via NJ.com. “I also find that people love Rutgers. So, my job is to bring to them the smartest idea that we can think of and that we can create. As we’ve done that, they’ve been incredibly receptive, unbelievably supportive.

Thankfully some of the furor over Pernetti’s firing has died down, but it hasn’t completely gone away. Evidence of this popped up when Rutgers was supposed to be celebrating membership in the Big Ten. Instead it was fielding questions about a full-page ad supporting Pernetti in the Home News Tribune on Tuesday and Wednesday.

However, not everyone feels that way, and over the past year Hermann has begun to overcome some of her early missteps. It’s something she readily acknowledges as she looks to move forward to the Big Ten era at Rutgers.

“Yeah, 2013 was painful. It really was,” Hermann said. “But, it’s time to go. It’s go time for Rutgers, and it’s bigger than any one person. Much bigger than me and much bigger than any of my predecessors, all of whom were vital to this day. They all made critical contributions to today. So, whether it’s Bob (Mulcahy) or whether it’s Tim – critical contributions to us going Big Ten and I understand I’m in charge of that legacy.”

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