Robert Morris working on contract extension for coach Andy Toole

Robert Morris athletic director Chris King has many duties to perform while his men’s basketball team prepares for its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 10 years.

Yet he’s found time for one other task that, he hopes, will propel the Colonials to success far beyond 2025: keeping coach Andy Toole in front of the Colonials’ bench.

“We are working on a (contract) extension for Andy at this moment,” King told TribLive on Monday morning. “His longevity here at RMU, the success this year is going to propel us to be able to sustain that success for this program for some time.”

King declined to offer details, but he said Toole’s current contract is not expiring this year and he is signed through at least 2026.

“Andy is an experienced, veteran coach. He’s had a lot of success at Robert Morris,” he said. “He’s very passionate about Robert Morris. I think Andy has done a tremendous job acclimating to this community and this region of the country, including with donors and with media, as well as his alumni engagement.

“He’s very competitive. He’s very driven. He has very strong leadership capabilities, as well as he has a vision where he wants the program to go. And so, I’ve enjoyed working with Andy. We’ve been in this together. He’s been a great teammate.”

King said the Horizon League championship and exposure in the NCAA Tournament — where the No. 15-seeded Colonials will play No. 2 Alabama on Friday in Cleveland — could spark interest among schools looking to hire a coach.

“Hopefully, that doesn’t happen,” he said. “But I would say he is Blue, White and Red. He bleeds Colonial. He is a Colonial. He loves RMU. I know his wife and kids are very happy here.

“I think it would take something awful special for him to ever move on from RMU. He’s put a lot of years and sweat and equity and investment into this program. I think he’s very proud to be the head coach at RMU.”

Toole, 44, has been with the program since he joined former coach Mike Rice’s staff in 2007. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2008 and replaced Rice as head coach before the start of the 2010-11 season.

A 2003 graduate of Penn (political science), Toole was a four-year starting guard at two schools, including two seasons at Elon before transferring to Penn where he played on two NCAA Tournament teams.

Before embarking on a coaching career, Toole, a Red Bank, N.J., native, spent two years (2004-06) with The Hoop Group in Neptune, N.J., where he was director of the Eastern Invitational Basketball Clinic.

In 15 seasons as head coach at Robert Morris, he has a 252-240 record, including 154-120 in the Northeast Conference and Horizon League. His teams won two NEC regular-season championships and appeared in five title games, earning NCAA Tournament berths in 2015 and 2020. He also led the Colonials to the NIT twice, including a famous victory at home against Kentucky in 2013, the year after the Wildcats won the national championship.

“From the time the guys get here for summer workouts to the fall season starting up to the nonconference schedule getting into the conference, he has a plan,” King said. “He follows that plan. He does a great job in evolving and adapting to this generation. He does a great job in evolving and adapting to this new NIL industry that we’re having to transition into.

“He has stood the test of time. We’re happy to have him at RMU.”