Robert Edward Mulcahy III (1932 – February 7, 2022) was an American college athletics administrator. He served as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

from 1998 to 2009.

Early life and education

Mulcahy attended

Millburn High School Millburn High School is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Millburn (including its Short Hills neighborhood), in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school ...

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from t ...

, andCaldwell, Dave
"IN PERSON; Renaissance Man"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', December 4, 2005. Accessed January 24, 2008. "Mulcahy, who graduated from Millburn High School and lives in Basking Ridge, did much of the groundwork that has enabled Rutgers University's athletic department grow and become a competing university in the Big Ten. Mulcahy hired football coach

Greg Schiano Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Rutgers University, a position he held from 2001 to 2011 and resumed before the 2020 season. Schiano served as the head coach for the Tampa ...

to lead the scarlet knights into becoming a strong football program. Through successful fundraising and management the athletics program at Rutgers grew and became well known and successful. " graduated from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

in 1958 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(A.B.) in

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. In college, he was a member of the Naval ROTC. He served as an officer on the USS ''Leyte'' CVS-32 and USS ''Tarawa'' CVS-40.

Career

At age 23, he ran successfully for Mendham Borough council about a year after moving to the borough, defeating an incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and becoming the lone

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

on the council. In 1970, he was elected Mayor of the predominately Republican town and served from 1971-1974. He resigned before the end of his term after being appointed by Governor

Brendan Byrne Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a privat ...

to be deputy commissioner of New Jersey Department of Institutions and Agencies. In 1976, he was then appointed by Governor Byrne to the state's first Corrections Commission. He then spent 19 years (1978–1998) as president and CEO of the

New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex, but which now contains the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, a regulatory ...

. In 1989, he was a finalist for the position of Commissioner of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, but he withdrew his name from the selection process. After arriving at Rutgers on April 15, 1998, Mulcahy used personal contacts to raise the Athletic Department's endowment and New Jersey political contacts to obtain funding from the New Jersey legislature for a massive renovation of Rutgers athletic facilities. He also won increased television coverage for Rutgers football.Robert E. Mulcahy III: Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
at www.ScarletKnights.com (Official Website of Rutgers Intercollegiate Athletics), published by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Accessed January 25, 2007. In 2008, a series of scandals hit the press with investigative reporting by the Newark ''Star-Ledger'' leading to disclosures concerning the handling of Athletics Department finances. Mulcahy was fired in December 2008 by then-president Richard McCormick under pressure resulting from the ''Star-Ledger'' investigations, though he said he had done nothing wrong. Mulcahy served as the chairman of the New Jersey

Casino Reinvestment Development Authority The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority or CRDA is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1984 and is responsible for directing the spending of casino reinvestment funds in public and private projects to benefit Atlantic ...

from 2014 to June 2021. In 2012, he joined the board of trustees of

Georgian Court University Georgian Court University (GCU or Georgian Court) is a private Roman Catholic university in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university has more than 1,600 undergraduates and nearly 600 graduate students ...

. He served on the board until his death.

Awards and honors

Mulcahy was made a knight of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

by Pope John Paul II. He received the

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...

. In 2017, Mulcahy was inducted into the Rutgers Athletic Hall of Fame, in recognition of his 11 years as the school's athletic director and his role in securing state funding for a major renovation of its athletic facilities. He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2020.

Personal life

Mulcahy was a longtime resident of Mendham Borough; after 37 years, he and his family moved to

Basking Ridge Basking Ridge is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community located within Bernards Township, New Jersey, Bernards Township in the Somerset Hills region of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset Count ...

. With his wife Marie "Terry" Mulcahy, he had seven children and 15 grandchildren. Terry died on May 1, 2021, at the age of 84. Mulcahy died on February 7, 2022.

Books

''An Athletic Director's Story and the Future of College Sports in America'' (Rutgers University Press, 2020)Selected New Books on Higher Education
Ruth Hammond, February 23, 2020, ''The Chronicle of Higher Education''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulcahy, Robert E., Iii 1932 births 2022 deaths Mayors of places in New Jersey Rutgers Scarlet Knights athletic directors Millburn High School alumni Villanova University alumni People from Bernards Township, New Jersey People from Millburn, New Jersey People from Mendham Borough, New Jersey Sportspeople from Morris County, New Jersey New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority executives