West Virginia University Institute of Technology’s Department of Physical Education will host an athletic coaching education and sport management panel featuring two well-known West Virginia University alumni: Attorney James “Rocky” Gianola and Men’s Basketball Coach Bob Huggins on Wednesday, September 25 at noon in the Engineering Auditorium. The presenters will discuss sport law, athletic contracts and labor issues, legal issues facing athletic associations and conferences, collegiate coaching and careers in athletics. The presentation is sponsored in part by Summit Community Bank and is free and open to the public.
The managing director of Gianola, Barnum, Wigal & London, L.C., a full service law firm in Morgantown, W.Va., with offices in Charleston and Kingwood, Gianola earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration/accounting, cum laude, in 1978. He graduated from the WVU College of Law in 1982. He is also an adjunct instructor of sport law at WVU, chairman of the Board Boston Hospitality Group, member of the American Bar Association, the West Virginia Bar Association and the Monongalia County Bar Association, American Bar Association Sections on Taxation, Real Estate, and Estates. He was a two-time letterman at WVU during his football career from 1974-78.
Huggins has been the head men’s basketball coach at WVU since 2007, leading the Mountaineers to 133 victories, the 2010 NCAA Final Four, the 2010 Big East Championship and five NCAA tournament appearances during his first six seasons in Morgantown. Prior to coaching at his alma mater, Huggins had coaching success at both Kansas State and the University of Cincinnati. A West Virginia native, Huggins was a two-time Academic All-American and graduated from the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, magna cum laude, in 1977. He received his master’s in health administration from WVU in 1978. Huggins was a three-year letterman for the Mountaineers from 1975-77 and was named MVP, helping the basketball team to an 18-11 record, the team’s highest win total in nine seasons.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming these two former Mountaineer athletes to the Montgomery campus to share their professional advice and expertise,” explained WVU Tech CEO Carolyn Long.