July 10, 2023

VIA EMAIL

David A. Campbell
Lewis Brisbois
1375 E. 9th Street, Suite 2250,
Cleveland, OH 44114
David.A.Campbell@lewisbrisbois.com

Re: Robert E. Huggins / Former West Virginia University Head Basketball Coach

Dear Mr. Campbell:

Thank you for your letter confirming that you are in fact representing Mr. Huggins. I will
await confirmation from Mr. Huggins’ other counsel on their status in terms of their representation
of him, as I noticed that your letter implies that your representation may be limited to this belated
request to “return to active coaching duties.”

After reading your recent letter, I am still confused by your allegations. Are you asserting
that Mr. Huggins never resigned? Is it your position that Mr. Gianola, the longstanding lawyer for
Mr. Huggins, engaged with the University on June 17 without the knowledge or authorization of
Mr. Huggins? And then Mr. Huggins’ wife submitted his resignation without his knowledge or
authorization? Finally, that Mr. Huggins did nothing to rectify this situation for almost three
weeks? Or, are you asserting that Mr. Huggins did resign, but his notification did not meet the
technical requirements under the Employment Agreement? Are you suggesting that the only way
Mr. Huggins could resign would be through registered or certified mail?

Either way, the facts prove these positions meritless. I would again encourage you to do
appropriate due diligence before asserting a position that is clearly contrary to the documented
evidence. To aid you in this endeavor, we note the following:

• Mr. Gianola, Mr. Huggins’ long-standing lawyer, actively represented Mr. Huggins
in multiple conversations with the University on June 16-17, 2023, leading up to,
and following the moment, when Mr. Huggins decided to resign as WVU Head
Men’s Basketball Coach and retire from the University. Mr. Gianola exchanged
several text messages and engaged in approximately 70 minutes of phone
conversations with the University during this two-day period.

• During conversations on the evening of June 17, Mr. Gianola indicated to the
University that Mr. Huggins had decided to resign and retire.
• After Mr. Gianola informed the University that Mr. Huggins decided to resign and
retire, the University told Mr. Gianola that it needed a writing from Mr. Huggins to
that effect. Mr. Gianola specifically asked the University if it would accept Mr.
Huggins’ resignation via an email sent by his wife, June Huggins, because (1) Mr.
Huggins does not use email, and (2) Mr. Gianola was having IT issues at his firm
and could not access his email reliably. Moreover, Mr. Gianola specifically
requested the University send language that the University would find acceptable
in such a resignation notification. In an effort to accommodate Mr. Huggins, the
University agreed to accept the notification from Mrs. Huggins’ email account and
to send language we would find acceptable.

• Prior to submitting his notification to the University, on the evening of June 17,
2023, Mr. Huggins met with members of the men’s basketball staff and student-
athletes to announce that he would no longer be coaching the team. We understand
that Mr. Huggins specifically told the team that he was resigning.

• Prior to submitting his notification to the University, but after meeting with his staff
and the team on the evening of June 17, 2023, Mr. Huggins called Steve Uryasz,
WVU Deputy Athletic Director and sports administrator for men’s basketball, to
personally confirm that he had spoken to the team and was, in fact, resigning. They
spoke for approximately 8 minutes. During this call, Mr. Huggins and Mr. Uryasz
also discussed who may be appointed as interim head basketball coach (since Mr.
Huggins was resigning) and Mr. Uryasz indicated that the University may go with
Josh Eilert, as Mr. Huggins had previously communicated to Mr. Uryasz that Coach
Eilert would serve as head coach during the three-game suspension of Mr. Huggins.
We understand that other members of the men’s basketball staff overhead pieces of
this conversation as Mr. Huggins had placed this call from the basketball locker
room and was talking on speaker phone.

• Mr. Gianola confirmed with the University via text message that Mrs. Huggins was
sending the email notification on behalf of Mr. Huggins and to be ready for it. After
the email was sent from Mrs. Huggins’ account, Mr. Gianola again followed up to
confirm that the University had received it.

• Mr. Huggins then called Mr. Uryasz again a few minutes after the notification was
sent from Mrs. Huggins’ email account. Mr. Huggins did not at that time indicate
he had changed his mind about resigning or that the email notification was sent
without his authorization.

• In terms of the press announcement that you attached to your letter, that
announcement, and an earlier draft of it, was specifically provided to Mr. Gianola,
who reviewed it and approved it on behalf of Mr. Huggins before the resignation
email was sent to the University. The University then only released the

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 announcement after telling Mr. Gianola that it was going to send out the approved
version, to which Mr. Gianola authorized by responding “okay.”

• The next day, Sunday, June 18, Mr. Huggins went to the WVU Basketball Practice
Facility at approximately 10:30 a.m. to clean out his office. He was met there by
Wren Baker, WVU’s Athletics Director, who arrived at approximately 12:00 p.m.
The two met for approximately 15 minutes and discussed Mr. Huggins’ recent
resignation and retirement. At no point during this conversation did Mr. Huggins
express to Mr. Baker that he did not, in fact, resign and retire. After cleaning out
his office, Mr. Huggins loaded the boxes from his office into his truck and left at
approximately 1:30 p.m.

• Prior to your letter, 20 days have passed since Mr. Huggins’ resignation and
retirement submission with no claim by Mr. Huggins, or his other two lawyers, that
he did not in fact resign and retire. During this time, all parties, including Mr.
Huggins and his attorney, have acted consistent with that resignation and retirement
notification in multiple ways.

Under any reasonable interpretation of these facts, Mr. Huggins resigned and is also
estopped from asserting otherwise. Any contrary position is frivolous.

Your reading and analysis of the Employment Agreement and the notice provision is also
without merit. The Employment Agreement notice provision provides: “Any and all notices
required or permitted to be given under this Agreement will be sufficient if furnished in writing
and sent by registered or certified mail to the other party . . . .” (emphasis added). The plain text
of this notice provision merely indicates that notices provided in writing and sent by registered or
certified mail will be sufficient. The language does not say that other notices are void, i.e., the
language does not say: “All parties must provide notice under this Agreement in a writing sent by
registered or certified mail to the other party and any notice not provided in such manner is void.”

Even if we accept your position (which we do not) that all notifications must be provided
via registered or certified mail to be effective (again, not what the language states), notice
provisions may be modified or waived. And, the University authorized notice in the manner given
– at the request of Mr. Huggins’ lawyer, who is the other person specifically mentioned in the
notice provision.1 See J.F. Allen Corp. v. Sanitary Bd. of City of Charleston, 237 W. Va. 77 (2016)
(finding that “[t]his Court has recognized that contract provisions providing for timely written
notice of changes or claims can be amended, waived or abrogated by the conduct of the parties.”)
(citing Syl. Pt. 1, Pasquale v. Ohio Power Co., 186 W. Va. 501 (1991) (“Ordinarily, where a
construction contract contains language to the effect that its terms cannot be changed without the
written consent of the parties thereto, then such written consent is required unless this condition is
waived by the parties by their conduct or through circumstances that justify avoiding the
requirement.”)). Moreover, in this circumstance where Mr. Huggins was clearly resigning and

1
This is not the first time that the University and Mr. Huggins have provided notice regarding aspects of Mr. Huggins’
contract in a manner other than certified or registered mail.

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retiring, the notice provisions are for the benefit of the employer (WVU) as the party receiving the
notice, and it may waive technical compliance.

In other words, to the extent you are suggesting that the resignation of Mr. Huggins did not
strictly and technically comply with the provisions of the Employment Agreement, WVU
nonetheless has accepted his unequivocal resignation, and WVU has not and is not requiring a
different form of notice under the Employment Agreement. We accepted his resignation in the
form requested by counsel to Mr. Huggins. There is no support in the law or on these facts to
suggest that Mr. Huggins may now ignore his resignation and his actions upon which all have
relied, undo his voluntary separation, and return to work as if none of this ever occurred.

I am certainly willing to have a conversation with you, as I have previously done with Mr.
Huggins’ other lawyers. But let me again restate the obvious: the University will not accept Mr.
Huggins’ attempted revocation of his resignation, nor will it reinstate him as head coach of the
men’s basketball program. That said, please provide in writing a detailed version of your proposal
for an “amicable resolution” before we schedule a call.

Consistent with the resignation and retirement of Mr. Huggins, we will be processing his
deferred compensation payments as required in the Employment Agreement, and I will send you,
and his other counsel, an accounting of those payments this week, unless I am informed that one
of you is not representing him with respect to these matters.

Sincerely,

Stephanie D. Taylor
Vice President & General Counsel

cc: James “Rocky” Gianola (jgianola@lewisgianola.com)

Bob Fitzsimmons (bob@fitzsimmonsfirm.com)