Huggins can be fired for excessive drinking

Updated: May 7, 2008, 12:39 PM EST 82 comments

West Virginia on Tuesday released details of the contract Huggins signed Friday.

The contract stipulates Huggins can be fired for substance abuse or habitual intoxication affecting his job performance. A West Virginia spokesman said that is a standard clause in employment contracts.

In 2005, Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher refused to extend Huggins' contract following his conviction for drunken driving a year earlier. Huggins took a year off, coached at Kansas State for one season and left for West Virginia, his alma mater, in April 2007.

Huggins will earn about $1.5 million this year, including a base salary of $250,000 and $1.25 million in supplemental compensation. His salary will increase a minimum of $100,000 per year, and he will receive an annual retention bonus of $100,000 starting next May 1, plus incentives.

Incentives include $10,000 for a first-round appearance in the NCAA tournament and $50,000 if the Mountaineers reach the championship game. Huggins would earn $20,000 if the Mountaineers win or tie for the Big East regular season championship, while a conference tournament title would also give him $20,000.

The Mountaineers went 26-11 this season and advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years.

Huggins has a 616-222 record in 26 seasons as a head coach. He ranks fifth in wins among active Division I coaches.

His contract includes a $4 million buyout clause, the same amount the university is seeking to recover from former football coach Rich Rodriguez, who quit in December to leave for Michigan.