MORGANTOWN - It's been almost three years since Bob Huggins hit the low point of his professional life, being forced out by first-year Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher after 16 years and 399 wins at the school.

On Friday another first-year president, this one Mike Garrison of West Virginia, signed off on a groundbreaking contract for the Mountaineer basketball coach designed to keep him at the school for the rest of his life.

So it was natural that Huggins was asked how two university leaders could have such disparate views of the same man.

"We have a much more intelligent president here,'' Huggins said dryly. "That's obvious.''

While others might differ in their opinion of Garrison given his current tenuous position amid the Heather Bresch academic scandal, West Virginia basketball fans are likely in nearly unanimous agreement that at least on this point Garrison did the right thing.

Huggins and the university on Friday announced a unique and rather groundbreaking contract for the 54-year coach - an 11-year deal that runs through the coach's normal retirement age and will pay him in the neighborhood of $1.5 million a year to start, nearly twice the annual salary they agreed to upon his hiring just over a year ago.

And at a hastily called news conference Friday afternoon, athletic director Ed Pastilong said it was the second contract prepared for Huggins this week. He said the two sides finally signed the original pact earlier this week - one which called for an $800,000 salary at the beginning of a five-year deal - but in a matter of hours began to reconsider and started work on what amounts to the lifetime deal.

"Last year we had the good fortune of welcoming Bobby Huggins back to his hometown,'' Pastilong said. "And this year we have the good fortune of welcoming him back to his hometown for the remainder of his coaching career. ... During discussions of his first contract, which he signed a few days ago, we thought, 'Heck, we might as well just do this forever.' '

Not to get right back to square one, but the revised contract has not actually been signed. When Huggins arrived back at his alma mater last April after one year at Kansas State, he signed a term sheet agreeing to the $800,000 starting salary, but until this week had not signed the completed document.

Pastilong, though, said that he expects the new deal to be completed and signed shortly, perhaps as early as next week.

As for Huggins, he seemed more than happy with the new deal, under which his salary will increase each year - Pastilong wouldn't say by how much, but other recent contracts for WVU head coaches have included bumps of $50,000 to $100,000 per year - and under which he will have essentially the same incentive package. Even without the incentives but with yearly raises, all told the deal could be worth close to $20 million.

It wasn't something Huggins pushed for, though.

"It was the university's idea,'' said Huggins, whose first team at West Virginia went 26-11 and made it to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16, Huggins' 15th NCAA tournament appearance in his last 16 years as a head coach. "I think a lot of times people will let a contract run out. But I think a happy employee is a good employee.''

And Huggins is obviously a happy one today.

Aside from the length and the substantial pay increase, the deal does come with one other interesting caveat. While Huggins' original contract called for a $1 million buyout should either side terminate the agreement, Pastilong said this one carries a $4 million buyout. That's the same amount the school is suing former coach Rich Rodriguez for after he jumped to Michigan last December.

And unlike the Rodriguez buyout, which was to decrease and eventually be eliminated over the life of the contract, Pastilong said there are no such provisions in Huggins' deal. The buyout remains $4 million through the life of the contract.

Both sides, though, hope it never comes to that. In fact, Pastilong said he actually hopes this "lifetime" deal isn't the last one Huggins signs with the school.

"He looks good, he looks fit,'' Pastilong smiled. "I'm hoping that after 11 years we have another of these assemblages and we sign a contract for another 11 years.''

The mood, of course, was in stark contrast to that of three years ago in Cincinnati. That's when Zimpher forced Huggins out after he was arrested on a drunken driving charge and she cited past problems with the school's basketball program in not renewing his contract. Huggins agreed on a $3 million settlement at the time, spent a year out of coaching and then was at Kansas State for one season before returning to Morgantown.

Huggins said that even though he spent his first year in Morgantown without a contract he was never concerned about the details. So settling on any deal, much less this one, wasn't necessarily a relief to him.

"When you get older, things don't seem to be as urgent as they used to be,'' Huggins said.

To contact staff writer Dave Hickman use e-mail or call 348-1734.