Robert E. Mulcahy III, who served as the athletics director at Rutgers University from 1998 to 2008 and on the National Football Foundation Board of Directors from 1990 to 2011, passed away Feb. 7. He was 85.

"Bob Mulchay deeply cared about college football and the National Football Foundation," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "He believed in the NFF and what we were trying to get done in promoting the values of the game. He was a steadfast promoter of everything we did, and he was just such a good friend to so many people.  He would do anything he could do to help, and he was always sincere, earnest and thoughtful. He was a good man and having known him since the early 80s, I know firsthand his passing is a loss for college athletics but we are forever grateful for his contributions."

"My relationship with Bob goes back more than 40 years when I became chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and he was executive director, working to bring the Jets and Devils to the Meadowlands," said NFF Chairman Emeritus Jon F. Hanson. "Our relationship continued with our work on the board of the National Football Foundation and while he was at Rutgers. He had a keen understanding of how the private and public sectors could work together, and he was a master at taking different viewpoints and forming a consensus to get things done. He was extremely affable, even-keeled and the type of person who you always wanted to work with and have around."

A visionary in New Jersey athletics, Mulcahy spent his life working towards the betterment of sports in his home state, steering the Rutgers football program toward national prominence during his time in Piscataway.

Coming off a winless season the year before his arrival as athletics director in 1998, he worked fast to improve conditions for Rutgers football. In 2001, he hired Greg Schiano, who in four short years would lead the Scarlet Knights to their first postseason appearance in nearly 30 years.
 
Mulcahy, a 1958 Villanova University graduate, also obtained funding from the state legislature for a massive renovation of the university's athletic facilities, raised the athletics department's endowment and secured increased television coverage for the football program.

Mulcahy is also credited with positively affecting student-athlete welfare and putting an emphasis on academics and community service. He initiated significant upgrades in athlete tutoring and supervision programs, boosting Rutgers to one of the top academic institutions in the Big East. He also encouraged participation in area toy drives, blood drives, reading programs and hospital visits.

Prior to joining Rutgers, Mulcahy served as president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) for 19 years. Under his watch, the NJSEA created the Kickoff Classic; attracted the Army-Navy game; and hosted eight NCAA Men's Basketball Regionals and the last Final Four ever to be held in an arena. He also negotiated contracts to host the NHL's New Jersey Devils, the NFL's New York Jets and Giants and the MLS' MetroStars to play at the Meadowlands.
 
In 2010, The NFF presented Mulcahy its NFF John L. Toner Award, recognizing him for his outstanding accomplishments as an athletics director. During his tenure on the NFF Board of Directors, Mulcahy chaired the NFF Awards Committee for several years, stepping down in 2011. After leaving the NFF Board of Directors in 2011, he continued to serve as an emeritus member until his passing. He also served as an honorary member of the American Football Coaches Association and was inducted into the Rutgers' Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.
 
Mulcahy was preceded in death by his beloved wife Terry of 62 years. They are survived by seven children, Cathleen, Bob, Matthew, Kevin, Muffy, Megan, and Deidre and fifteen grandchildren, Nicholas, Matthew, Alaine, Connor, Tyler, Abigail, Emily, Owen, Katie, Bobby, Drew, Mia, Brady, Annabelle and Emma Grace.