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Tim Pernetti, Rutgers University's athletics director, is reportedly out of work, the most senior official at the school to lose his job since vi (more)

Tim Pernetti, Rutgers University's athletics director, is reportedly out of work, the most senior official at the school to lose his job since video surfaced earlier this week of the men's basketball coach verbally and physically abusing players.

It was not immediately clear whether Pernetti was fired or resigned, ESPN reported today.

The New Jersey school Wednesday fired men's basketball coach Mike Rice -- and his assistant, Jimmy Martelli, resigned -- 24 hours after video aired on ESPN of Rice's shoving and kicking players while berating them with gay slurs.

Rice apologized, telling WABC-TV, "I've let so many people down: my players, my administration, Rutgers University, the fans, my family."

"There's no explanation for what's on that film. There's no excuse for it. I was wrong. And I want to tell everybody who's believed in me that I'm deeply sorry for the pain and hardship that I've caused," he said.

Pernetti, 42, was named athletic director in 2009 of the state university and is credited with overseeing the school's acceptance into the prestigious Big Ten conference last year.

In a statement released Wednesday, Pernetti said he became aware of the accusations against Rice in December and chose not fire the coach at the time but instead decided "rehabilitation" was the best course of action.

After ESPN Tuesday aired footage of Rice's berating his player, Pernetti came forward to say he had known about the allegations and apologized for not taking action earlier.

After Rice's dismissal Wednesday, Pernetti released a statement, saying, "I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice. 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."

Despite being fired, Rice is still entitled to a $100,000 bonus for completing the season, officials said.

In the wake of the scandal, 13 Rutgers faculty members have also called on university president, Robert Barchi, to step down or be fired.

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