In pursuit of his first straight NCAA tournament appearance in over 40 years, Rutgers has agreed to a four-year contract extension with men’s basketball coach Steve Pickell, the school announced Friday.
Pickell, who was 18-12 years old by the Scarlet Knights when they opened Friday’s Big Ten tournament game against Iowa, is now signed for the 2029-30 season and is set to cash in another $16 million from the deal.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN named Rutgers one of the “last four farewells” at the NCAA Tournament. If the Scarlet Knights make it to the top 68, it will be their first trip back to the tournament since they reached the Final Four in 1976. Rutgers lost to Houston in the second round of last year’s tournament.
“I love it here,” Pickell said in a statement. “Rutgers has embraced me and my family from day one and there is no other place I would like to be. [Athletic director] Pat Hobbs and President [Jonathan] Holloway shares my vision to make this program one that everyone can be proud of, and I am grateful for their leadership. … I’m honored to be the head coach of Rutgers and to be part of the toughest conference in college basketball. I look forward to continuing the hard work to take RU to the national championship.”
Rutgers 98-89 under Pikiell, who previously coached at Stony Brook for 11 seasons.