College basketball

Huggins ousted one way or the other

By wire services
Published August 24, 2005

CINCINNATI - Bob Huggins was ordered Tuesday to resign as Cincinnati's coach or he'll be fired, the culmination of a power struggle with the school president.

In a letter faxed to his lawyer by the university, Huggins was given 24 hours to resign and accept a financial compensation package worth almost $3-million. If he doesn't respond by 2 p.m. today, he will be fired, the letter said.

Huggins, 51, was traveling and had not seen the letter, lawyer Richard Katz said.

Athletic director Bob Goin, one of Huggins' most loyal supporters over the years, said he backed the decision.

"It's time for the university to move on," Goin said. "We've reached an impasse."

Huggins has the most wins in school history, but his tenure also has been marked by player arrests, poor graduation rates and NCAA rules violations that landed the school on probation.

His arrest for drunken driving last year upset new school president Nancy Zimpher. Huggins was placed on unpaid leave over the summer, but returned and coached last season. He pleaded no contest to driving under the influence and attended a three-day intervention program.

"Character counts," Zimpher said emphatically. "Our coaches must be exemplary role models on the court and off."

By dumping their coach less than two months before practice, the school put itself at a major disadvantage heading into one of the nation's toughest conferences.

Cincinnati is moving from Conference USA to the Big East this season along with USF, Louisville, DePaul and Marquette.

Cincinnati will have an interim coach; Goin wanted to take a few days to pick one.

The program could feel repercussions for years, but Zimpher said Huggins' removal would help the university in the long run. She noted the school has been improving in national academic rankings.

"The only variable that we have stagnated on is our national reputation," Zimpher said, blaming the basketball program.

Earlier in Huggins' career, the program had one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation. It improved recently, but not enough to please Zimpher.

The school declined to invoke a roll-over provision that would have left Huggins with four years on his contract, making it easier to recruit. Katz tried and failed to get the deal extended.

Huggins went 399-127 in 16 seasons, rebuilding Cincinnati into a prominent program after years in disarray. His teams made 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the Final Four in 1992. But the program had a history of player arrests and infractions and went on two years' probation in 1998 after the NCAA concluded there was a lack of institutional control.

ARKANSAS: Fayetteville (Ark.) police arrested point guard Eric Ferguson after he failed to take care of a traffic ticket, and coach Stan Heath said he would discipline his player internally because "I'm not going to crucify a kid for speeding."

GAINESVILLE - Derwin Kitchen, the former Jacksonville Raines star who signed with Florida in November, will not be in school when the fall semester starts today because he has not passed the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The 6-foot-4 guard was first-team all-state and led Raines to state titles in 2003 and '04 and was expected to be an integral part of the Gators' backcourt, which lost Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh to the NBA. The FCAT will be administered again in September. If Kitchen passes he could enroll in January and be eligible to play.

- ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times staff writer

Visits by national champion North Carolina, Duke, Purdue and Massachusetts highlight Florida State's 15-game home schedule, which was released Tuesday. FSU's home opener is Nov. 21 against Alcorn State. Purdue visits Nov. 19 as part of the ACC/Big Ten challenge, North Carolina visits Jan. 22, Massachusetts on Feb. 12 and Duke on March1.

[Last modified August 24, 2005, 01:16:13]