Less than a month after signing a contract extension at Robert Morris, Mike Rice is leaving the school for Rutgers, a player and a source with knowledge of the situation said Monday.

Rice, 41, was 73-31 in three seasons at Robert Morris, his only time as a Division I head coach. An official announcement will be made later this week.

Robert Morris guard Karon Abraham, the 2010 Northeast Conference rookie of the year, said Rice called him Monday afternoon to tell him he was leaving for the Big East school.

Abraham said Rice had earned a shot as a head coach at a large school in an elite conference.

"His time is up," Abraham said.

Robert Morris announced April 9 that Rice signed a contract extension through the 2016-17 season. But even then, Rice said the new deal did not guarantee he would remain at Robert Morris indefinitely.

"There may be a time or a place that makes it a no-brainer," Rice said at the time. "But it's not right now."

That was more than a week before then-Rutgers coach Fred Hill Jr. resigned, reaching a settlement with the university after his profanity-laced outburst at a Rutgers-Pitt baseball game. Hill's father is Rutgers' head baseball coach.

Rice, a Pittsburgh native with strong East Coast coaching ties, got a boost from his relationship with Bob Hurley, a longtime basketball coach at prep powerhouse St. Anthony in Jersey City, N.J.

A former Pitt assistant, Rice was twice named NEC coach of the year and leaves Moon with the best winning percentage in school history. He led the Colonials to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, which included a near upset of second-seeded Villanova in the first round of this year's tournament.

Now, Robert Morris must find a replacement, and quickly, as several recruits wait in limbo.

Abraham gave an endorsement for associate head coach Andy Toole, saying he would stay at Robert Morris, "as long as coach Toole" does. Toole is considered to be a strong candidate to replace Rice, as is IUP head coach and former Pitt assistant Joe Lombardi, who led the Crimson Hawks to the NCAA Division II national title game this season.

Robert Morris athletic director Craig Coleman declined to discuss Rice's coaching status, but he said if the university conducted a coaching search, it would create a search committee of about 10 to 12 people representing the athletics department, university administration, faculty and trustees.

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