Huggins is notified to resign or be fired

CINCINNATI (AP) — Bob Huggins was ordered Tuesday to resign as Cincinnati's basketball 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. If he doesn't respond by 2 p.m. Wednesday, he will be fired, the letter said.

The 51-year-old coach was traveling and had not seen the letter, lawyer Richard Katz said.

Huggins has won more games than any other coach at Cincinnati, but his tenure also has been marked by player arrests 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, the Bearcats' last before moving into the Big East.

The school declined to invoke a roll-over provision in his contract that would have left Huggins with four years on his deal.

The letter faxed to Katz on Tuesday was signed by the school's legal counsel, Zimpher, athletic director Bob Goin and the chairman of the board of trustees.

The letter, obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information request, offered to keep Huggins in some other job until 2008, paying him $2.77 million over that time. He could have no hand in the basketball program.

If Huggins declines the offer, he will be fired, the letter said.

The letter also highlighted the deepening rift between Huggins and the school administration.

Zimpher notified Huggins last May that he would not get his contract automatically extended, as provided for in the deal. He was given the option of leaving or continuing to coach on the two-year deal.

He held a news conference to announce he was staying rather than informing the administration privately, a move that evidently drove the wedge deeper. The ultimatum sent on Tuesday referred to the May news conference, noting the university had to issue a statement "in light of the fact that coach Huggins chose to deal with contract issues through the media."

Huggins went 399-127 in 16 seasons at Cincinnati, rebuilding it into a nationally prominent program after years in disarray. His teams made 14 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, and reached the Final Four in 1992.