West Virginia requested and received permission Monday to speak with University of Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins about the Mountaineers' head coaching vacancy, UC Athletic Director Bob Goin said.

        Since Feb. 14, when former UC coach Gale Catlett announced his retirement as West Virginia's coach, Mr. Huggins has been mentioned as the leading candidate for the job.

        Mr. Huggins, 48, who just finished his 13th season as UC's coach, was born in Morgantown, W.Va., and played for West Virginia. He was a two-time academic All-American and the team's Most Valuable Player as a senior. He has undergraduate and master's degrees from the school and started his coaching career there as a graduate assistant in 1977.

        “What Bob has told me previously, in years gone by, is he always had a dream of coaching for his alma mater,” UC President Dr. Joseph A. Steger said Monday. “Now that's a wonderful thing to have. That's hard to fight. ...

        “If it was even Memphis or somewhere else, I don't think I'd be so concerned.”

        Mr. Huggins said Monday night that he had talked to Mr. Goin “and some people here, but, no, I haven't talked to anybody yet” from West Virginia. Mr. Huggins, who was at the Montgomery Inn for his weekly radio show, said he just wanted to “enjoy the night” and wasn't “even going to think about it until after tonight.”

        Mr. Huggins, who recorded his 500th career head coaching victory Friday night, said nothing is set up to meet with West Virginia officials. And he wouldn't classify this job possibility as any more real than previous ones.

        “The L.A. Clippers, that was pretty real,” Mr. Huggins said. “And the Miami Heat was pretty real. And Alabama before that was pretty real.”

        Dr. Steger said he could not answer questions about matching an offer from West Virginia until he knows what that would be.

        “I certainly would hope, of course, he would stay,” Dr. Steger said. “I think he's done a great job, and we certainly want to keep him.”

        Mr. Goin declined to say whether he has a meeting set up with Mr. Huggins for this week.

        “I'm not going to tell you what my plans are,” Mr. Goin said. “I'm just telling you that my relationship with Bobby is solid enough that if he wants to leave, it's not going to be because of anything Cincinnati has done or lack of what they've done. You will not hear from him, "I asked you to do this and you wouldn't do it, so I'm going here.'”

        Mr. Huggins' contract at Cincinnati expires June 30, 2005.

        Mr. Huggins' base salary is $150,000, and he collects an additional $215,000 from radio, television, public relations and speaking activities. Mr. Huggins also earns bonuses for Conference USA titles and NCAA Tournament victories. In May 2000, he received a raise that brought his guaranteed annual compensation to $545,000.

        That does not include money from summer camps or his deal with Nike. In August, USA Today reported that Mr. Huggins earns $1.2 million a year in annual salary and outside income.

        Also, Mr. Huggins will collect an annuity expected to be worth more than $1 million on July 1, his attorney, Bret Adams, has said.

        West Virginia Athletic Director Ed Pastilong waited until the Bearcats' season ended — a 105-101 double-overtime loss Sunday to UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament — then made his move. The Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail reported Monday that the West Virginia athletic director was in Pittsburgh on Sunday to watch the Bearcats' game.

        Mr. Pastilong has spoken to close to 12 job candidates, the Daily Mail reported, some just on the telephone.

        While UC set a school record with 31 victories this season, the Mountaineers finished 8-20, including a 1-15 record and last-place finish in the Big East Conference.

        Mr. Huggins would not go so far as to say it was important to get the matter resolved quickly.

        “If it's not that, it's going to be the Denver Nuggets or the Phoenix Suns or something else,” he said. “What does it matter? Somebody's going to start something, and you guys are going to start asking me. I've become very accustomed to it. It's not a bad thing. If somebody doesn't want you, you're not doing a very good job.”

South Carolina's 25-0 blitz too much to overcome WVU wants to talk to Huggins Forecast for UC: Big, balanced

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