Rutgers just quieted the college basketball rumor mill.

Steve Pikiell has signed a long-term extension to remain as Rutgers men's basketball coach, sources told NJ Advance Media. The contract is expected to be approved at 4 p.m. Wednesday at a specially called meeting of the university's Board of Governors.

Details, including the number of years and salary for the extension, are unknown at this time.

Upon his hiring in March 2016, Pikiell signed a five-year contract worth an average of $1.6 million annually and topping out at $1.8 million guaranteed before bonuses. The original contract runs through March 31, 2021.

In less than two years on the job, Pikiell has the formerly dormant program on the upswing, with an 11-6 record that includes wins over then-No. 15 Seton Hall in front of a huge crowd and Big Ten rival Wisconsin. The Scarlet Knights visit No. 4 Michigan State at 7 p.m. tonight.

Rutgers has lengthened the contracts of and given raises to athletics director Pat Hobbs and its three highest-paid coaches in the last four months.

Hobbs signed through at least the 2021-22 school year with a built-in extension clause through 2023-24. Football coach Chris Ash signed an updated contract through 2022, and women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer received a four-year deal through 2020-21.

In Pikiell's case, there already has been speculation in corners of the basketball world that he would be an attractive option for his alma mater, Connecticut, if Kevin Ollie is fired.

Ollie coached UConn to the 2014 national title but the Huskies are just 8-7 this season and in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years out of the middling American Athletic Conference.

Pikiell is a favorite son of UConn coaching legend Jim Calhoun.

Rutgers has endured 11 straight losing seasons under four different coaches, but Pikiell, who led a massive turnaround at Stony Brook, was the first hand-picked by Hobbs.

The 2017-18 schedule was put together with an eye on ending that skid, and the Big Ten is having a down year so Rutgers is primed to avoid a fourth straight last-place finish.

Pikiell currently has three players signed --four-star guard Montez Mathis, junior college transfer Shaq Carter, and three-star guard Ron Harper Jr. --in a 2018 recruiting class that is ranked No. 57 nationally by 247Sports.com.

"We're a program in progress. We're plugging away," Pikiell said after the last game, when his team snapped a three-game losing streak. "We've got good things going on.

"We had seven guys with a 3.0 (GPA), four guys on the Dean's list, we're building a new practice facility. This program is going to be good. We've got to stay the course."

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.