MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State gave Bob Huggins a second chance.
So did West Virginia, the school Huggins spurned five years ago.
Huggins took them both, a year apart. On Thursday, he resigned to become the Mountaineers' basketball coach after one season with Kansas State.
Although administrators thanked Huggins for turning around the Wildcats' fortunes, they weren't too happy about his dash out of town.
"Bob is a good guy. I think he made a bad decision, but he is a good person," athletic director Tim Weiser said. "He was great to work with. He is much different than I think he is portrayed as being."
Huggins flew from Manhattan to Charleston, W.Va., on Thursday evening. Upon his arrival, he got into a car without speaking to reporters. He said late Thursday in a news release that he took the job because he wanted to come home.
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| Leaving Kansas State early will cost Bob Huggins $100K, but the coach is following his heart. (Getty Images) |
Huggins replaces John Beilein, who left the Mountaineers on Tuesday to become Michigan's coach.
"You should know that we moved heaven and earth to keep Bob Huggins here," school president Jon Wefald said. "Tim in effect said, 'You tell us what your salary should be. Whatever West Virginia is offering, we will match it and then some. Same for the assistant coaches."'
Huggins told Weiser and Wefald of his decision Wednesday night, after returning from Cincinnati.
"I asked him, 'Bob, do you think leaving now is the right thing to do?' And he said, 'No,"' Weiser said. "Then I said, 'How many times in your life have you known what the right thing is to do and not done it?' And he said, 'Never."'
West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong said school officials were delighted that Huggins was returning to his alma mater.
"I am so happy to have Bob Huggins back at West Virginia," Pastilong said in the news release. "Bob's record speaks for itself."
