Mike Rice Era Begins at Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Mike and Kerry Rice were in the kitchen of their Fox Chapel, Pa., home last Saturday afternoon when it finally dawned upon him that he was going to become the next head men’s basketball coach at Rutgers.

Mike turned to his wife, a native of Middletown, N.J., and said, “Can you believe I’m going to be the Big East coach in your home state?”

“Yeah, I can believe it because I always believed in you. I always believed that you could do this,” Kerry told him.

After missing out on openings at Fordham, his alma mater, and Seton Hall, the former Robert Morris coach finally got the nod after an intense five-hour interview with Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti.

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Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.