MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU President Gordon Gee says WVU has moved on from Bob Huggins.
Huggins submitted his resignation and retired 26 hours after his June 16 DUI arrest in Pittsburgh.
Gee, a guest Monday on MetroNews “Talkline”, said the entire situation is sad.
“I am a great admirer of Coach (Huggins) in so many different ways, he’s done many good things for our state and for our university, so that’s the reason I’m so immensely disappointed in him. For the fact he was given a second chance and just did not perform at the level that he should,” Gee said.
Gee gave that second chance to Huggins after he twice used an anti-gay slur as a radio guest on 700 WLW in Cincinnati in early May. The DUI arrest came less than six weeks later. Huggins failed field sobriety tests and blew a .210 on a breathalyzer. He was charged with first offense DUI.
Gee said Huggins was given several opportunities to follow the rules after the Cincinnati radio incident but that did not happen. He said WVU is not looking back.
“We’re now focused on Coach Eilert (WVU interim head coach Josh Eilert). In other words, we have moved on,” Gee said Monday. “I hope that Coach Huggins will move on with his life too and take good care of himself and his family.”
Huggins said in a statement last week that he’s now in rehab. Huggins also has retained an attorney who has corresponded with WVU on several occasions saying that Huggins didn’t actually resign and should be reinstated. Gee said Monday that won’t happen.
Kercheval asked Gee about that on Monday’s “Talkline.”
“Can you foresee any possible circumstance where Bob Huggins would return to WVU as the head basketball coach?” Kercheval asked.
“No,” Gee said. “No. None.”
Huggins is scheduled to be back in court in Pittsburgh next month. MetroNews reported last week that the Allegheny County (Pa) District Attorney’s Office has determined Huggins’ case eligible for a Pennsylvania diversion program that could lead to the charge being dismissed and his criminal record expunged.
The DA’s office denied a request by MetroNews to obtain video footage of the Huggins’ traffic stop after determining that all of the images represented the initiation of a criminal investigation.