Bob Huggins turns down W. Virginia offer

Posted 7:04AM on Tuesday 26th March 2002 ( 23 years ago )

CINCINNATI - Bob Huggins is staying at the University of Cincinnati - for now. Huggins decided to stay with the Bearcats and turn down West Virginia's offer to take over as basketball coach Monday, but the NBA is still out there. Huggins, who has said repeatedly that he is interested in coaching in the NBA, wouldn't comment directly on that possibility Monday night, other than to say he has had those offers before. Cincinnati athletic director Bob Goin acknowledged that the school realizes it could face more competition for Huggins. ``We went through it and won this one at the collegiate level,'' Goin said Monday night. ``I can't guarantee it won't happen again. If you've got somebody that's good, it happens quite frequently.'' Huggins was courted by West Virginia for about a week. ``It was a very hard decision,'' Huggins told The Associated Press on Monday night. ``Both schools have been great to me.'' Huggins said that consideration of his family and players played a part in his decision, but the support of the community and working conditions at Cincinnati also were deciding factors. ``UC is a great place, and the community has been great to me for 13 years,'' Huggins said. Huggins had a series of meetings with Goin for the last week, the latest on Monday afternoon. Huggins informed West Virginia officials of his decision early Monday evening. ``I can assure you economics was not part of his decision,'' said Mike Parsons, an assistant athletic director at West Virginia. ``His decision was personal in nature. His personal situation didn't allow him to consider our job now. Huggins said there was no talk of a contract extension with Cincinnati. Since 1995, the university has paid Huggins $130,000 per year into a deferred annuity designed to keep him at Cincinnati. His contract allows him to collect it after this season. ``Money was very seldom talked about,'' Goin said, admitting that he worried that he would lose Huggins to West Virginia. ``I was up and down like the stock market,'' he said. ``I could see the passion and enthusiasm he has for his alma mater.'' Huggins praised West Virginia. ``I have tremendous feelings for West Virginia University and what they did for me - the opportunity they gave me,'' he said. The 48-year-old Huggins played for West Virginia from 1975-77, and he began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant. He was let go when Gale Catlett left Cincinnati to take the West Virginia job. Catlett, who resigned last month after 30 years as West Virginia's coach, went 565-320 there. West Virginia set school records for losses in two of the past four seasons and has had discipline problems. The Mountaineers were 8-20 this season, including a 1-15 record and last-place finish in the Big East. Cincinnati, meanwhile, finished 31-4 this season, including an upset loss to UCLA 105-101 in double overtime in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Huggins is 500-172 in 22 seasons as a head coach, including 13 at Cincinnati. Huggins built a perennial Top 25 program at Cincinnati. His teams won or shared the Conference USA regular-season title in each of the league's seven years.

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