Keli Zinn is betting on herself. The West Virginia native officially began her tenure in Piscataway on Wednesday, when the Rutgers Board of Governors approved a five-year deal that makes her the highest-paid athletic director in school history.

New Rutgers athletics director Keli Zinn said all the right things on Day One. Most importantly, she conveyed an understanding of what Rutgers needs.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Rutgers named Keli Zinn its new athletic director on Wednesday, filling the job after a one-year vacancy. Zinn had been deputy AD and chief operating officer at LSU since 2022 after stops at West Virginia, Maryland and the Big East. She assumes control of overseeing 24 men’s and women’s varsity sports on Aug. 6.