Global Courant
Controversial West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins has resigned just hours after he was arrested for alleged drunk driving.
The arrest is the latest incident involving the West Virginia coach in recent months. Last month, Huggins was suspended for three games after using a homophobic slur during a radio interview. He caused further controversy when he shared his views on Catholicism during the same interview.
The university confirmed Huggins’ departure late Saturday night.
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West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins watches the play unfold during the Big12 Tournament game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the West Virginia Mountaineers on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO. (Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The 69-year-old Huggins currently ranks third on the list of all-time Division I coaches. His 935 career wins trail only legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and longtime Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. Krzyzewski retired with 1,202 wins, while Boeheim retired from coaching with 998 wins to his credit.
However, Huggins never won a national title. He led Cincinnati to the Final Four in 1992 and West Virginia in 2010.
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Huggins had 16-year stints each with the Bearcats and the Mountaineers. Both ended in the wake of drunk driving arrests.
Huggins was charged with drunk driving Friday night after his SUV came to a stop in the middle of traffic in Pittsburgh with a torn tire and the driver’s side door left open at around 8:30 p.m. Huggins’ blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.
He was later released and will have to appear for a preliminary hearing, according to a police report.
In a statement to the West Virginia community on Saturday night, Huggins said, “Today I have submitted a letter to President Gordon Gee and Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker informing them of my resignation and intent to retire. to serve as head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University effective immediately.”
In a separate statement Saturday night, the West Virginia Athletic Department said they accepted the resignation “in light of recent events.
“We support his decision so he can focus on his health and family. On behalf of West Virginia University, we share our appreciation for his service to our university, our community and our state.”
A replacement for Huggins was not immediately named. The statement from the athletic department said that “we will focus in the coming days on supporting the student-athletes in our men’s basketball program and strengthening leadership for our program.”
Huggins said his recent actions do not represent the university’s values or the leadership expected in his role as a coach.
“While I have always tried to represent our university with honor, I have failed all of you – and myself –,” he said. “I take sole responsibility for my conduct and I sincerely apologize to the University community – especially the student-athletes, coaches and staff in our program. I need to do better, and I plan to be focused in the coming months to my health and my family so that I can be the person they deserve.”
West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins talks to Kedrian Johnson #0 in the second half during the game against the Texas Longhorns at the Moody Center on February 11, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
Huggins added that it was “the honor of my professional career” to lead the team at his alma mater. Born in Morgantown, he said it “will always be my home, and I will always be a rock climber. Thank you to everyone who has supported our program over the years. It has meant more to me and my family than you could ever know. “
In June 2004, Huggins pleaded no drink driving in a Cincinnati suburb and was ordered to attend a three-day intervention program. The University of Cincinnati, where Huggins was the head coach at the time, suspended him indefinitely with pay and told Huggins to rehabilitate himself.
Huggins was allowed back to work two months later, saying: “I made a terrible mistake, and what bothers me the most is that I hurt other people. I’m better at everything I do and make those people proud of me. “
By 2005, Huggins’ Cincinnati career was over; he was fired amid a power struggle with the school’s president and the aftermath of the 2004 arrest.
West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins reacts during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Legacy Arena in the BJCC on March 16, 2023 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
After spending a season at Kansas State, Huggins took his dream job at West Virginia, his alma mater, in 2007.
Last month, Huggins agreed to a three-game suspension, a $1 million salary cut and sensitivity training for using the slur during an interview with Cincinnati radio station WLW. Huggins was asked about the transfer portal and if he had any chance of bringing a player from Xavier, a Jesuit high school, to West Virginia.
“Catholics don’t do that,” Huggins said. “I’ll tell you what, any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it, by God they can get away with anything.
“It was the Crosstown Shootout. What it was was all those (expletive), those Catholic (expletive), I guess.”
West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins reacts from the bench during the Big 12 Tournament game against the Kansas Jayhawks at T-Mobile Center on March 9, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Huggins’ salary of $4.15 million was cut by $1 million after the insult. That discount would be used to directly support WVU’s LGBTQ+ center, as well as a college mental health center and other groups that support marginalized communities.
At the time, he was suspended for the first three games of the 2023-2024 season. In addition, his contract was changed from a multi-year deal to a year-on-year deal, effective May 10.
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Huggins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last September. In 41 seasons, his teams have gone to 25 NCAA tournaments, finished in the top 10 of The Associated Press poll seven times and finished under .500 five times. The Mountaineers have 11 NCAA Tournament appearances under Huggins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
