Robert E. Mulcahy III
Encyclopedia
Robert Edward Mulcahy III (born 1932) was the director
of athletics
at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
.
in Millburn, New Jersey
, and graduated from Villanova University
in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts
(A.B.) in History
. Since arriving in 1998, Mulcahy is noted for having raised the Athletic Department's endowment, in obtaining funding from the New Jersey legislature for a massive renovation of Rutgers athletic facilities, and in getting increased television coverage for the Rutgers' Scarlet Knights football, long regarded as one of the worst programs in NCAA
Division I-A competition. On December 10, 2008, it was announced that Mulcahy would step down at the conclusion of the year. Subsequent reporting revealed Mulcahy had been fired by university president Richard McCormick. http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2008/12/mulcahy_defends_his_record_as.html
Before coming to Rutgers, Mulcahy served as President
and Chief Executive Officer
of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
, raising the profile state's athletic facilities at the Meadowlands
by creating the Kickoff Classic
, attracting the Army–Navy Game, hosting several NCAA Basketball tournaments, and negotiating contracts to host the New Jersey Devils
(National Hockey League
), New York Jets
(National Football League
), New York Giants
(NFL), and MetroStars
(Major League Soccer
).
Mulcahy has made significant upgrades in many areas of the athlete tutoring and supervision program. He was a leader in innovating the "class checker" system, which pays students with clipboards to stand outside classrooms and "eyeball into class" scholarship athletes who might otherwise be reluctant to attend.
Under Mulcahy’s leadership, Rutgers athletes have been heavily promoted in Athletics Department public relations material as paragons of community involvement. The Athletics Department has regularly been able to circulate press releases announcing their participation in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee annual Holiday Toy Drive, Student-Athlete Blood Drives, the Read Across America program, and area hospital visits.
Foremost among the public relations materials generated by the department is the Annual Report, which chronicles the division's achievements. This was produced for the first time ever following the 1998-99 academic year under Mulcahy’s direction.
In the 2005-06 academic year, the Scarlet Knights’ football team finished with a 7-4 regular season record, a third-place finish in the BIG EAST Conference, and made its first post-season appearance in many years in the Insight Bowl. Mulcahy cited the budgetary issues in maintaining a 30 sport program in comparison to other schools of the same size and made a decision with the consent of the board of governors to cut six varsity teams in the "participatory" sports—including men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, and lightweight and heavyweight crew.
Mulcahy was a leader in the attempt to rescue the BIG EAST Conference in the wake of defections by Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. Though widely reported as having been humiliated by Miami Athletics Director Paul Dee in negotiations leading to the breakup of the conference, Mulcahy set out with notable determination to find football schools willing to fill the slots vacated by three top Big East teams. Though many objected that the extremely low academic standing of those he brought in—the University of South Florida, Cincinnati, and Louisville—was a disgrace to a university with Rutgers' history and traditions, Mulcahy received praise from the Board of Governors and members of the Scarlet R boosters' club for having helped keep the BIG EAST in existence.
Mulcahy came to Rutgers on April 15, 1998, after a 19-year tenure as President and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
. Under Mulcahy's leadership, the NJSEA developed into the nation's premier sports and entertainment venue. Among his noteworthy achievements at the Meadowlands included getting contracts to host eight NCAA Men's Basketball Eastern Regionals and the last Final Four ever to be held in an Arena, in 1996. Mulcahy led the negotiations that resulted in the NHL’s Devils, the NFL’s Jets, and Major League Soccer’s MetroStars playing in the Meadowlands.
Mulcahy's lifelong passion for professional sports, and his strong commitment to entertainment marketing, has not gone unnoticed. The New York Times described his tenure with the NJSEA as one of "fervor and foresight, establishing the Meadowlands as one of the nation's leading sports and entertainment complexes." The Newark Star Ledger hailed the holding of the NCAA Final Four in New Jersey as "the miracle of the Meadowlands."
Mulcahy serves on the Board of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, is Chair of its Awards Committee, and is an honorary member of the American Football Coaches' Association.He has received the Medal of Excellence, the Alumni Medal, and the James "Jumbo" Elliot Achievement Award from his alma mater. Among other honors, his most prized awards include the Knight of St. Gregory medal, received from Pope John Paul II, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Mulcahy was a long time resident of Mendham, where he served as Mayor of Mendham, New Jersey. He and his wife Terry relocated to Basking Ridge
. They are the parents of seven children, and also have 11 grandchildren.
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
of athletics
College athletics
College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
Biography
Mulcahy attended Millburn High SchoolMillburn High School
Millburn High School is a four-year public high school in Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Millburn Township Public Schools. The school enrolls students from the town of Millburn, including its neighborhood of Short Hills...
in Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,149.Millburn Township was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township.Millburn also...
, and graduated from Villanova University
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(A.B.) in History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. Since arriving in 1998, Mulcahy is noted for having raised the Athletic Department's endowment, in obtaining funding from the New Jersey legislature for a massive renovation of Rutgers athletic facilities, and in getting increased television coverage for the Rutgers' Scarlet Knights football, long regarded as one of the worst programs in NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I-A competition. On December 10, 2008, it was announced that Mulcahy would step down at the conclusion of the year. Subsequent reporting revealed Mulcahy had been fired by university president Richard McCormick. http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2008/12/mulcahy_defends_his_record_as.html
Before coming to Rutgers, Mulcahy served as President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Originally consisting of Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1976, Brendan Byrne Arena was added to the complex in...
, raising the profile state's athletic facilities at the Meadowlands
Meadowlands Sports Complex
The MetLife Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority...
by creating the Kickoff Classic
Kickoff Classic
The Kickoff Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from 1983 to 2002.-History:...
, attracting the Army–Navy Game, hosting several NCAA Basketball tournaments, and negotiating contracts to host the New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
(National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
), New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
), New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(NFL), and MetroStars
Metrostars
Metrostar may refer to:*New York Red Bulls, formerly called the "MetroStars", a soccer team from New York*Manila Metro Rail Transit System, popularly called "The Metrostar Express", a part of the metropolitan rail system in Manila...
(Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
).
Mulcahy has made significant upgrades in many areas of the athlete tutoring and supervision program. He was a leader in innovating the "class checker" system, which pays students with clipboards to stand outside classrooms and "eyeball into class" scholarship athletes who might otherwise be reluctant to attend.
Under Mulcahy’s leadership, Rutgers athletes have been heavily promoted in Athletics Department public relations material as paragons of community involvement. The Athletics Department has regularly been able to circulate press releases announcing their participation in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee annual Holiday Toy Drive, Student-Athlete Blood Drives, the Read Across America program, and area hospital visits.
Foremost among the public relations materials generated by the department is the Annual Report, which chronicles the division's achievements. This was produced for the first time ever following the 1998-99 academic year under Mulcahy’s direction.
In the 2005-06 academic year, the Scarlet Knights’ football team finished with a 7-4 regular season record, a third-place finish in the BIG EAST Conference, and made its first post-season appearance in many years in the Insight Bowl. Mulcahy cited the budgetary issues in maintaining a 30 sport program in comparison to other schools of the same size and made a decision with the consent of the board of governors to cut six varsity teams in the "participatory" sports—including men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, and lightweight and heavyweight crew.
Mulcahy was a leader in the attempt to rescue the BIG EAST Conference in the wake of defections by Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. Though widely reported as having been humiliated by Miami Athletics Director Paul Dee in negotiations leading to the breakup of the conference, Mulcahy set out with notable determination to find football schools willing to fill the slots vacated by three top Big East teams. Though many objected that the extremely low academic standing of those he brought in—the University of South Florida, Cincinnati, and Louisville—was a disgrace to a university with Rutgers' history and traditions, Mulcahy received praise from the Board of Governors and members of the Scarlet R boosters' club for having helped keep the BIG EAST in existence.
Mulcahy came to Rutgers on April 15, 1998, after a 19-year tenure as President and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Originally consisting of Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1976, Brendan Byrne Arena was added to the complex in...
. Under Mulcahy's leadership, the NJSEA developed into the nation's premier sports and entertainment venue. Among his noteworthy achievements at the Meadowlands included getting contracts to host eight NCAA Men's Basketball Eastern Regionals and the last Final Four ever to be held in an Arena, in 1996. Mulcahy led the negotiations that resulted in the NHL’s Devils, the NFL’s Jets, and Major League Soccer’s MetroStars playing in the Meadowlands.
Mulcahy's lifelong passion for professional sports, and his strong commitment to entertainment marketing, has not gone unnoticed. The New York Times described his tenure with the NJSEA as one of "fervor and foresight, establishing the Meadowlands as one of the nation's leading sports and entertainment complexes." The Newark Star Ledger hailed the holding of the NCAA Final Four in New Jersey as "the miracle of the Meadowlands."
Mulcahy serves on the Board of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, is Chair of its Awards Committee, and is an honorary member of the American Football Coaches' Association.He has received the Medal of Excellence, the Alumni Medal, and the James "Jumbo" Elliot Achievement Award from his alma mater. Among other honors, his most prized awards include the Knight of St. Gregory medal, received from Pope John Paul II, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Mulcahy was a long time resident of Mendham, where he served as Mayor of Mendham, New Jersey. He and his wife Terry relocated to Basking Ridge
Basking Ridge, New Jersey
- Demographics :As Basking Ridge is not an independent municipality, the following demographic data is based on the United States Census Bureau figures for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the 07920 ZIP Code...
. They are the parents of seven children, and also have 11 grandchildren.