Rutgers Athletics has promoted BJ Merriam to be the departments new Executive Senior Associate AD. In this new role, Marriam will help guide strategy related to revenue allocation and Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). In this role, he will work closely with campus partners including the Office of General Counsel, University Ethics & Compliance, Financial Aid, Admissions and the Registrar to ensure alignment across all regulatory and operational areas.
“BJ’s promotion reflects the trust we have in his
leadership and the critical role he plays in navigating the increasingly complex landscape of collegiate athletics. He brings a combination of integrity, institutional knowledge and forward-thinking strategy that ensures we operate at the highest standard and with a deep sense of responsibility to our student-athletes and our university. I’m incredibly appreciative of his commitment to strengthen our department.”- Rutgers Athletic Director Keli Zinn.
In addition to his new role, Merriam will continue his previous role as Chief Compliance Officer. In this role Merriam leads the department’s Office of Athletics Compliance, overseeing all aspects of NCAA, Big Ten and institutional compliance while playing a central role in risk management, policy development and revenue-share implementation. He is also the sport administrator for baseball and men’s soccer, overseeing program operations, student-athlete welfare and competitive success. His compliance staff is responsible for directing rules education, monitoring and policy enforcement across all 24 sports.
This is not Merriam’s first tenure at Rutgers. During his earlier tenure, he had roles such as Director of Compliance and later Assistant Athletic Director of Compliance, where he managed NCAA compliance operations and served as a liaison across multiple internal units. He then moved on to being the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance & Internal Operations at Rider University, where he acted as Chief Compliance Officer and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, oversaw compliance for 19 sports, implemented a new compliance software system, introduced NIL programming and served as sport administrator for nine programs before returning to Rutgers.
His experience also includes compliance roles at the University of Pennsylvania, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and Bucknell University.
