Rutgers grad sues school over ‘gross negligence’ in racking up $516 million sports debt

A Rutgers University graduate has filed a class action lawsuit against his alma mater alleging that the school’s athletic department “has squandered tens of millions in taxpayer funding” through “wasteful spending, lack of oversight, and other gross negligence” and has “harmed New Jersey taxpayers“ while racking up a half-billion dollar deficit over the past decade. The suit, filed Tuesday in Middlesex County Superior Court by attorney Hector Rodriguez, is seeking to “halt the ongoing waste and unlawful diversion of public funds” to the athletics department, which reported a record $78 million deficit for the 2024-25 academic year. Rodriguez, a class of 1975 Rutgers alum who was once a judge in Franklin Township , argues in the filing that the $516 million deficit Rutgers has accrued since joining the Big Ten in 2014 “constitutes a systemic misuse of public resources undertaken without meaningful oversight, without legislative authorization, and without a credible plan for fiscal sustainability.

” Seeking a trial by jury, Rodriguez requests that the court declare that the school’s “continued subsidization of athletics deficits with public funds violates New Jersey law” and orders “an independent financial audit of Rutgers athletics. ” He also seeks to prevent Rutgers “from approving or funding athletic deficits using taxpayer-supported funds without legislative authorization” and demands that Rutgers “make restitution to the State of New Jersey for all amounts deemed to have been improperly used. ” President William Tate, the Board of Governors and Board of Trustees were all named as defendants.

In a statement to NJ. com, Rutgers spokeswoman Dory Devlin said the university “does not comment on pending litigation” and “will respond to the complaint through the legal process. ” “Rutgers’ academic mission and national profile have significantly advanced since the university joined the Big Ten,” Devlin said in the statement.

“At the same time, despite major revenue growth from Big Ten distributions, costs driven by the talent and infrastructure required, including coaches’ salaries, high salary fringe rates, facilities, and student-athlete resources, have outpaced revenue. “Rutgers is not alone: Rutgers athletics operating spending ranks 11 out of the 18 teams in the Big Ten. During this unprecedented time of change in collegiate athletics, the university is taking several steps to work toward a sustainable athletics budget, which currently makes up 3% of Rutgers’ $6 billion budget.