Gee Says 'No' to Possibility of a Bob Huggins Return: 'We Have Moved On'

Bob Huggins' days at WVU are officially over.

The breakup between Bob Huggins and West Virginia University has not been a pretty one. 

Following his DUI arrest in Pittsburgh in June, Huggins submitted his resignation to the university with the intention to retire as the head basketball coach at WVU.

However, last week, Huggins released a statement that explained his side of the story in that he did not officially resign from his head coaching duties.

"I am employed by WVU pursuant to an Employment Agreement. I never submitted the notice requited under the Employment Agreement to voluntarily resign. I let WVU WVU know that I was seeking rehabilitation. However, WVU was not willing to speak with me about the Pittsburgh event nor to provide me time to obtain counsel to review my Employment Agreement. 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. Most importantly, whether I was staying or not, I was encouraging the players to stay at WVU. My players come first and they needed to hear my support for WVU directly from me."

There were a couple of letters that went public in a back-and-forth exchange between WVU and Huggins' lawyers regarding the matter, but we hadn't heard anything about where things stand until university president, E. Gordon Gee made an appearance on Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval Monday morning.

Huggins has stated that he wants to resume his duties and be reinstated as the WVU head coach. When asked if there was any chance of that happening, Gee said emphatically, "No! No, none."

When asked why, Gee explained in greater detail.

"Because of the fact that he was given several opportunities to make certain that he followed the rules and that did not happen. I am great admirer of coach in so many different ways. He's done many good things for our state and for our university, so that's the reason I am so immensely disappointed in him. For the fact that he was given a second chance and just did not perform at the level he should. We're now focused on Coach [Josh] Eilert. I've told the coach if he wins the national championship this year, we may keep him for a second year. In other words, we have moved on and I hope that Coach Huggins will move on with his life too and take good care of himself and his family."

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