Firing Comes as No Surprise to Huffman : Volleyball: Cal State Fullerton terminates coach after three seasons. He says he will continue his legal battle against the school.

Jim Huffman may have saved the Cal State Fullerton volleyball program, but he couldn’t save his job.

Huffman said he received a letter late Monday afternoon from Jack Bedell, associate vice president of academic affairs, that stated the school “will no longer avail itself of your services as head volleyball coach.”

In other words, he was fired.

This came as no surprise to Huffman, who filed a lawsuit against the school in an effort to have its Jan. 28 decision to drop the women’s volleyball program overturned on the grounds that it violated state sex-discrimination laws.

A Superior Court judge signed a preliminary injunction ordering the school to reinstate the sport Friday, but it became apparent that the eight-week legal battle had also become a personal struggle between Huffman and school President Milton Gordon.

“One of the things you do as a coach is teach lessons, and one of the lessons Fullerton is trying to teach is that if you stand up for what’s right, you’ll get knocked down,” Huffman said.

“That’s kind of a bad lesson to be teaching. I feel this is their way of being vindictive to me, to show me I was wrong. They feel it’s my fault that they got caught breaking the law.”

Fullerton Athletic Director Bill Shumard deferred comment on the matter to Bedell, but Bedell couldn’t be reached. No official announcement on Huffman was made by the school, and no announcement was made concerning a replacement.

The preliminary injunction order stated that the school “shall provide appropriate coaching for the team,” and should not “alter the funding levels for women’s volleyball.”

But the school probably will hire an interim coach--possibly Titan volunteer assistant Sherry Ringer--to run spring workouts until it is determined whether the team will remain intact for next season. Barring an out-of-court settlement, a permanent injunction hearing within 60 to 90 days will determine the team’s fate.

“My concern is they have someone who can do a comparable job of coaching, because that’s what the (court) order said,” Huffman said. “If they don’t, they’ll be in contempt of court. I want to make sure they’re not using this opportunity to pay someone $50 to save money.”

Kirk Boyd, the attorney representing Huffman and the team, said if the school doesn’t have a qualified coach in place by today, he will pursue court sanctions against the school.

“They cannot have a coach who is less qualified or is paid less than Jim,” Boyd said. “If they do, we’ll ask the court to hold them in contempt.”

Boyd called the school’s decision to fire Huffman “appalling, but not surprising.”

“It’s the same as in the 1960s when they persecuted people for supporting the civil rights movement,” Boyd said. “Unfortunately, it’s standard practice to persecute people who exercise their civil rights guaranteed by law.”

Huffman, whose Titan teams went 25-80 in his three seasons as head coach, said he will continue his legal battle against the school, but was uncertain about his future in coaching. His contract with the school expired in December and he was being paid on a month-to-month basis.

“I don’t think there will be any openings in coaching from now until November,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’ll do something. I was an art major in college and I’ve worked for a sports promotions company. Heck, I’ve always wanted to be a waiter.”

Huffman certainly maintained his sense of gallows humor Monday. He chuckled at the wording of the letter--”Cal State Fullerton will no longer avail itself of your services?”--and thought the ending of it ironic.

“It says, ‘On behalf of Cal State Fullerton, we wish you well in your future endeavors and career,’ ” Huffman said. “I’m surprised it wasn’t done in fancy script, you know, like, ‘You’ve been invited not to work here anymore.’ ”