PISCATAWAY - Rutgers University auditors warned of financial troubles at the school's athletics department, months before revelations of possible mismanagement sparked two investigations, according to a published report.

A confidential internal audit, obtained by The Star-Ledger of Newark, warned of a lack of fiscal controls as money rolled in from the school's football success. The audit was critical of hundreds of thousands of dollars in off-the-books spending that never appeared in the Rutgers budget.