UPDATE: This story has been updated to include details released by WVU
MORGANTOWN — WVU men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins will remain on the sidelines at the school this season, but will serve a three-game suspension, have his salary reduced by $1 million and will undergo sensitivity training, the school announced Wednesday.
The decision made by WVU President E. Gordon Gee, the athletic department and the WVU Board of Governors comes two days after Huggins made anti-gay remarks directed at Xavier University and its fans, while appearing on a Cincinnati radio show.
Details released by the university came in the form of a joint statement from Gee and WVU athletic director Wren Baker. The statement included the extensiveness of sensitivity training for Huggins, as well as his entire coaching staff.
Huggins and his assistants, as well as all WVU full-time athletic employees, will have annual training sessions with WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center, which will “address all aspects of inequality including homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism and more,” according to the statement.
Huggins will also be required to meet with LGBTQ+ leaders from across West Virginia with guidance from WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center. The school plans to partner with ACLU-WV, Fairness WV, Morgantown Pride and other organizations, in which Huggins is expected to “engage in additional opportunities to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Huggins will also be required to meet and work with the WVU Carruth Center, which provides counseling and psychological services for WVU students.
The statement also said Huggins volunteered a “substantial donation” to Xavier University to support its Center for Faith and Justice and its Center for Diversity and Inclusion.
The $1 million WVU will recoup from Huggins’ annual salary will be used to directly support WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center, the Carruth Center and other state and national organizations that support marginalized communities. The university leadership will seek input from these organizations to determine how to best utilize those funds, according to the statement.
As well as a pay cut, the statement said Huggins’ contract has been amended from a multi-year agreement to a year-by-year agreement that began on Wednesday and will run through April 30, 2024. According to a source, Baker and Huggins will meet annually to discuss Huggins’ status and terms for a yearly extension. Huggins signed the amended contract Wednesday.
No information was provided on whether or not Huggins’ incentive package or buyout was also amended. The Dominion Post has asked for the new contract through a Freedom of Information request.
The three-game suspension will cover the first three games of the 2023-24 season, which will be home games against Missouri State, Monmouth and Jacksonville State. Huggins will return in time to coach the Mountaineers during the Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off.
WVU also stressed in its statement that any similar incidents from Huggins would “result in immediate termination.”
Huggins made the comments Monday, while appearing via a phone call on Bill Cunningham’s radio show on 700 WLW in Cincinnati.
While speaking about fans of Xavier University, the city rival of the University of Cincinnati, where Huggins coached for 16 years, he referred to them as “Catholic f##s.”
Huggins released his own statement Wednesday, reiterating what he said in his statement on Monday, in that he will make no excuses for his actions, and he would abide by the school’s decision outlined in its statement and amended contract.
“I am looking forward to working with WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center and other state organizations to learn more about the issues facing the community. As a leader, I am eager to use my platform to take what I learn and share it with a broader audience,” Huggins said. “I also regret my comments regarding Xavier University. I am hopeful that my personal donation to the university to support its Center for Faith and Justice and its Center for Diversity and Inclusion will further the work it does and the impact it has on its students.
“West Virginia and West Virginia University are my home. I love this university and know first-hand that the education and experiences students receive here make a difference. I am truly sorry for the damage I have done. And I am grateful for the chance to move forward in a way that positively represents this University and our state.”
Last season, Huggins earned $4.15 million, plus incentives. The amended contract will cancel the extension Huggins signed in 2021, which kept him tied to the university — either as the head coach or in emeritus status — through June 30, 2027.
That contract did contain a “termination for cause by university,” in which WVU reserved the right to fire Huggins without having to pay him his buyout.
The contract lists eight examples that would be justifiable reasons to fire Huggins with cause, including “Conduct by coach that is clearly contrary to the character and responsibilities of a person occupying coach’s position, offends the traditions of the University, brings discredit to the University or harms the University’s reputation.”
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