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Bob Huggins, the men’s basketball coach at West Virginia, was arrested in Pittsburgh on Friday and charged with driving under the influence.
According to a publication in the police department public safety siteofficers in Pittsburgh found Huggins blocking traffic in a black SUV just before 8:30 p.m. Huggins’ door was open and the car had “a flat and shredded tire.”
Police ordered Huggins to get his vehicle off the road, which he had a hard time doing. He failed field sobriety tests and was arrested.
According to the criminal complaint, police found a white bag filled with empty beer cans on the floor of Huggins’ car. Another white bag full of cans was found in the trunk. When police asked Huggins where he was, he replied “Columbus,” which officers took to mean he thought he was in Ohio. Huggins gave a breathalyzer result of 0.210, nearly three times the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.08 in Pennsylvania.
Huggins has since been released. the university said in a sentence Saturday morning that he was aware of the incident and was in the process of gathering more information.
The background: Huggins was suspended in May
Last month, Huggins was disciplined after he used a homophobic slur twice and mocked Catholics on a local Cincinnati radio show.
His contract was modified, deducting $1 million from his salary of $4.15 million a year. Huggins also had to undergo sensitivity training and was suspended for the first three games of the 2023-24 season.
in a statement of May 10The university’s president and athletic director said Huggins’ actions “unfairly and inappropriately hurt many people and tarnished West Virginia University.”
The statement added that any future instances of derogatory or offensive language would result in the “immediate termination” of Huggins.
“I have no excuse for the language I used and I take full responsibility,” Huggins said in a statement at the time. “I will abide by the actions outlined by the university and sports leadership to learn from this incident. I have had several conversations with colleagues and friends whom I deeply respect and admire over the last 24 hours, and I am well aware of the pain I have caused.”
Friday’s arrest was not Huggins’ first run-in with the law. Huggins, who coached at the University of Cincinnati from 1989 to 2005, was charged with drunk driving in Ohio in 2004 and pleaded no guilty. The school suspended him indefinitely before allowing him to coach for the 2004-5 season. Huggins received a $3 million buyout from Cincinnati in August 2005.
Why It Matters: Huggins is a preeminent figure in the sport
Huggins, 69, has the most wins of any active Division I men’s basketball coach, with 863. In 38 seasons as head coach at Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia, he led his teams to 26 NCAA tournament appearances, including two Final Fours, and won five conference coach of the year awards.
He ranks eighth on the career win list and needs 14 more wins to eclipse Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp and tie Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun. But a national title has eluded Huggins, who has the most wins of any coach to never cut championship nets.
