PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Robert Morris University athletic director Craig Coleman, M.D., announced Wednesday the signing of head men's ice hockey coach Derek Schooley to a three-year contract extension, which will keep Schooley as the Colonial bench boss until 2016.

"We are very excited to extend Coach Schooley's contract through 2016," Coleman said. "We have a first class coach who has developed our program from scratch into one of the most respected in the country, and he has done it the right way. We are proud to have him as a representative of the university in the hockey community and know that he will continue to do great things with our program."

In the past seven seasons, Schooley has taken Robert Morris from its first season in Division I to a national ranking and several major upsets, including a sweep of the No. 1 team in the nation in 2009-10.

Since the calendar turned to 2010, Schooley owns a record of 5-4-1 record against teams ranked in the Top 20 nationally, including a 3-3-0 record against teams ranked in the Top 5 in the country. In his seven seasons as the head coach at Robert Morris, Schooley owns a record of 11-17-1 against teams ranked in the Top 20 nationally.

"I am proud and thankful that Robert Morris University, Dr. Dell'Omo and Dr. Coleman have entrusted me with the opportunity to continue to represent this great university as its hockey coach," Schooley said. "I look forward to another five years at Robert Morris and hopefully beyond. My family really enjoys Pittsburgh and we are very happily involved in the local community. Our team is very excited to start the 2011-12 season as we look to continue to build on the success of last season."

Schooley led the Colonials to a banner season in 2010-11 as Robert Morris posted a record of 18-12-5, setting a school record for wins in a season. The St. Louis, Mo., native also helped the Colonials to their first national ranking this past season as Robert Morris posted the best home record in the Atlantic Hockey Association, going 10-3-3 on home in ice in its first season in the league.

Robert Morris' success has not been limited to the ice in Schooley's tenure as the team posted a 3.61 cumulative grade point average in 2010-11 with 25 of the team's 26 players owning a GPA over 3.0.