Huggins agrees to step down

CINCINNATI — Bob Huggins agreed Wednesday to step down as Cincinnati's basketball coach, ousted by a school president determined to change the program's image.

One day after Huggins was given a choice of resigning or being fired, he agreed to take a $3 million buyout of his contract. The school's offer includes a chance to stay for three more months, giving advice on basketball recruits and related matters.

"We are working on the details of the agreement, which may or may not be finalized in the next 24 hours," said Richard Katz, the coach's attorney.

Huggins left Katz's office without comment, dressed in his black Cincinnati jacket, when no final deal was reached on Wednesday.

The university sent Katz a letter earlier in the day outlining the $3 million buyout. The letter, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, offered Huggins $110,000 per month for the next three months to stay on and ease the coaching transition.

"His duties will include providing information about the current team, identifying and commenting upon potential recruits, and documenting his institutional memory of the basketball program during his 16-year coaching tenure," the letter said.

An interim coach has not been chosen. The school doesn't anticipate hiring a permanent replacement until after the 2005-06 season, its first in the Big East. The school will have a difficult time attracting recruits in the meantime.

The volcanic coach who won more games than anyone else in Cincinnati history was forced out by an academically minded school president who doesn't like Huggins' history or philosophy.

President Nancy Zimpher sent Huggins an ultimatum on Tuesday, giving him 24 hours to either take the buyout, stay in a capacity other than basketball coach or get fired from the job.

"It could happen to anyone when you get hired by a different president," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said Wednesday. "There's a difference in philosophies. It happens. It's a change in CEOs. They have their own people, their own philosophies, and it's different than what Bob stands for."

Zimpher, hired in 2003, wants the program to recruit players with better grades and an aversion to trouble. She also wants her coaches to be better role models.

Huggins' arrest and conviction for drunken driving last year dismayed Zimpher, a strong-willed administrator who wound up in a power struggle with the strong-willed coach. She refused to extend his contract last May, setting the stage for his exit.