Each step of Huggins split was clear, but coach has now thrown situation into the fog – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Huggins walked into his office at the WVU Basketball Practice Facility on Sunday morning June 18, hours after an email from his wife had been accepted by WVU officials as the coach’s resignation and retirement.

The highest paid state employee was there to clean out his office.

WVU, his employer of 16 years, said Huggins did exactly that. He arrived at around 10:30 a.m. WVU’s still new Athletic Director Wren Baker got there about 90 minutes later. They two talked for about 15 minutes and by 1:30 p.m., Huggins was putting several boxes in his truck and he left the Coliseum parking lot.

He was now the former WVU basketball coach.

Less than 48 hours earlier Huggins had been stuck on a city street in Pittsburgh, not far from where thousands had gathered for the Taylor Swift concert. Pittsburgh police noticed one of his SUV’s tires was shredded. They asked Huggins to move to the side of the street so other motorists could get by. He had trouble doing so — and that started a DUI investigation that resulted in a first offense DUI charge. Huggins blew a .210

Reporters began finding out about the DUI the next morning. First the news of a DUI arrest and then the gathering and reporting of the criminal complaint where officers described the 69-year-old Huggins having a difficult time telling officers where he had been, where he was and where he was going. He failed all of the field sobriety tests.

WVU says Huggins’ longstanding attorney Rocky Gianola was in conversations with the university on both June 16, the night of the arrest and most of the day on Saturday.

“Mr. Gianola exchanged several text messages and engaged in approximately 70 minutes of phone conversations with the University during this two-day period,” WVU has said.

Later that Saturday night, Gianola indicated to WVU that Huggins had decided to resign and retire.

Huggins now says that never happened.

“I never resigned from my employment as Head Basketball Coach for West Virginia University,” Huggins said in a Monday statement, which came 23 days after the Saturday night, June 17, email from his wife’s account that said he did.

The email

“Please accept this correspondence as my formal notice of resignation as WVU Head Basketball Coach and as notice of my retirement from West Virginia University, effective immediately.”

It came from June Huggins to WVU Deputy Athletic Director and sports administrator for men’s basketball Steve Uryasz at 8:38:04 p.m. on Saturday, July 17.

WVU officials say the institution was asked by Gianola if an email from June Huggins’ account would be okay and if WVU could send acceptable language for such a resignation.

“In an effort to accommodate Mr. Huggins, the University agreed to accept the notification from Mrs. Huggins’ email account and to send language we would find acceptable,” WVU General Counsel Stephanie Taylor said in a WVU response letter released Monday.

Huggins’ attorney, Cleveland-based David Campbell, said, in a Monday letter to WVU, that resignation violates the employment agreement Huggins had with WVU that a resignation be in writing and delivered by registered or certified mail.

In the Monday response, Taylor said WVU can and did waive that requirement.

“The plain text of this notice provision merely indicates that notices provided in writing and sent by registered or certified mail will be sufficient,” Taylor told Campbell in the Monday response letter. “The language does not say that other notices are void, i.e., the language does not say: “All parties must provide notice under this Agreement in a writing sent by registered or certified mail to the other party and any notice not provided in such manner is void.”

“Are you suggesting that the only way Mr. Huggins could resign would be through registered or certified mail?”

Team meeting

WVU says Huggins met with his team before the email was sent.

“We understand that Mr. Huggins specifically told the team that he was resigning,” WVU claims.

WVU says Huggins met with his staff and then told Uryasz he was resigning and even asked him about who the interim coach might be. They spoke for 8 minutes.

Huggins characterizes the meeting somewhat differently.

“I met with my players on June 17, 2023 and let them know the truth — that I did not know what would happen to me, but that if I was not their coach, I was hoping that I would be replaced by a coach that I recommended to WVU,” he said in his statement released Monday.

Huggins said, most importantly, he encouraged the players to stay at WVU.

WVU release

Huggins, who says WVU was not willing to speak to him about the Pittsburgh event who allow him to get an attorney review his contract, also claims he didn’t approve the statement WVU put out announcing his resignation and retirement. The announcement went out at 10:30 p.m. on that Saturday night, 26 hours after his drunk driving arrest.

“I did not draft or review WVU’s statement,” Huggins said. “This false statement was sent under my name, but no signature is included.”

His attorney, David Campbell, told WVU, “It is quite obvious that WVU was fully aware that an email to Steve Uryasz was not effective notice under the Employment Agreement. Had that not been the case, the communications sent at 10:30 p.m. would have clearly stated that Steve had received notice from Coach Huggins’ wife.”

WVU’s Taylor said the statement was only released after it was approved by Gianola before the resignation email was sent to the university.

“The University then only released the announcement after telling Mr. Gianola that it was going to send out the approved version, to which Mr. Gianola authorized by responding ‘okay,’” Taylor wrote.

Next step

WVU says its position is clear.

“Under any reasonable interpretation of these facts, Mr. Huggins resigned and is also stopped from asserting otherwise. Any contrary position is frivolous,” Taylor said.

Huggins could decide to file a lawsuit.

“We hope that litigation is not necessary, but discovery would most certainly reveal why WVU changed the story at 10:30 p.m., what version of the events President Gee communicated to WVU’s board, and whether WVU understood that the transfer portal should not have been opened until an effective resignation was received,” Campbell said in his latest correspondence to WVU.

Meanwhile, Huggins said he’s receiving treatment at a world-class rehabilitation facility.

“I intend to remain in the center until I am cleared to return to my active coaching duties,” Huggins said.