Cincinnati tells Huggins: resign or accept firing

CINCINNATI - Bob Huggins was ordered Tuesday to resign or he'll be fired as Cincinnati's basketball coach, culminating a power struggle with the school president.\nIn a letter sent by the university, Huggins was given 24 hours to resign, or he would be fired and get a buyout, said an associate who spoke on condition of anonymity because Huggins had not yet seen the letter.\nThe 51-year-old coach was traveling and unavailable for comment. His lawyer received a letter from the university on Tuesday afternoon with the ultimatum.\nHuggins 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.\nHis 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 last before Cincinnati moved into the Big East.\nThe school declined to invoke a roll-over provision in the contract that would have given Huggins another year. Richard Katz, Huggins' lawyer, had been talking to the school about trying to get an extension.\nKatz said Tuesday that the school had refused, leaving Huggins with only two years left on his contract and a tough time persuading recruits to play for him.\n"We've been discussing with them for the last six or eight weeks an extension of the contract," Katz said. "It appeared he wasn't going to be able to fulfill the remaining two years of the contract because he couldn't recruit, he was running into obstacles at the university. It would not have been appropriate for that to continue."\nThe university confirmed only that a letter had been sent to Huggins, and declined further comment. The development was first reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer.