Mike Rice's three-year run at Rutgers has come to an end.

The university terminated Rice's contract this morning following a meeting with athletic director Tim Pernetti in his office at the Rutgers Athletic Center. Rice's job status became tenuous when videotapes of his actions during practices from his first and second years on campus were made public by ESPN's "Outside the Lines" program on Tuesday.

Rice was seen throwing basketballs at players — including one instance, throwing it at a player's head — as well as shoving players during a practice. He was also heard using the term "f------ faggot" at a player and using abusive language.

"I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of coach Rice," Pernetti said in a statement released by the university Wednesday morning. "Dismissal and corrective action were debated in December and I thought it was in the best interest of everyone to rehabilitate, but I was wrong. Moving forward, I will work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community."

Rice was disciplined in December when the videotaped evidence was shown to Pernetti.

The 44-year old head coach was suspended for three games without pay and fined $50,000 by the university for what it termed "a violation of athletic department policy" and a use of "inappropriate behavior and language." The total amount of lost pay for Rice during the suspension was $74,905 — roughly 25 percent of his total base salary for the 2012-13 season.

Upon returning from his suspension on Dec. 29, Rice had to undergo mandatory sensitivity training and anger management counseling, which was ongoing after the conclusion of Rutgers' season. Rice also asked that Rutgers install an individual to monitor his practices from outside the men's basketball program.

But once what was on the videotapes was made public, the backlash against Rutgers and Rice became too great.

Rice's actions caught the eyes of those at the state's highest levels, including Gov. Chris Christie, who issued a statement where he said he was "deeply disturbed" by what he viewed.

Christie then issued a further statement Wednesday on his personal Twitter feed following Rice's firing.

"This was a regrettable episode for Rutgers, but I completely support the decision to remove coach Rice," Christie wrote. "It was the right and necessary action to take in light of the conduct displayed on the videotape."

Christie continued, saying: "Parents entrust their sons to the Rutgers athletic department and the men's basketball program at an incredibly formative period of their lives. The way these young men were treated by the head coach was completely unacceptable and violates the trust parents put in Rutgers. All of the student-athletes entrusted to our care deserve much better.

"As we move on from this, I'm very optimistic that Rutgers will selected a new head coach who not only puts a winning team on the court, but will make everyone proud of the example he sets every day for the young men in his charge."

Pernetti, who had given Rice a vote of confidence to return next season for the fourth year of his original five-year deal, had stated Tuesday during a brief sitdown with local media that the matter had been dealt with already. But with political heavyweights and leaders of both the country and the state's LGBT equal rights groups calling for Rice to be terminated for using homophobic slurs, the outcome became inevitable.

"When video excepts of basketball practices were reviewed last fall by athletic director Tim Pernetti, he immediately notified me and sought the advice of internal and outside counsel," Rutgers president Robert Barchi said in a statement released by the university.

"The university hired an independent investigator to look into this matter thoroughly. Based on the external investigator's findings and recommendations, Tim and I agreed that coach Rice should be suspended, penalized $75,000 in fines and lost salary, ordered to undergo anger management counseling and put on notice that his behavior would be closely monitored. Tim Pernetti also made it clear to coach Rice that there would be zero tolerance for addition infractions. Tim kept me fully apprised and I supported his actions."

Barchi then continued his statement, saying that the further review of the tape warranted a second look at the situation.

"Yesterday, I personally reviewed the video evidence, which shows a chronic and pervasive pattern of disturbing behavior. I have now reached the conclusion that coach Rice cannot continue to serve effectively in a position that demands the highest levels of leadership, responsibility and public accountability. He cannot continue to coach at Rutgers University. Therefore, Tim Pernetti and I have jointly decided to terminate Mike Rice's employment at Rutgers."

Rice's three-year tenure with the Scarlet Knights program ends with a 44-51 record and 17-39 mark in Big East play.

Rutgers is expected to begin a national search for a new head coach for its men's basketball program, one year removed from the university moving into the Big Ten Conference.

This will be the second national search for a new men's basketball head coach in three years for Rutgers and fourth since 2001.