Huggins steps down at WVU
West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins has resigned after a drunken driving arrest.
The university announced his resignation Saturday night.
Huggins was charged with driving under the influence on Friday night after his SUV had stopped in the middle of traffic in Pittsburgh with a shredded tire. According to a criminal complaint, a breath test determined Huggins’ blood alcohol content was 0.21%, more than twice the legal limit.
The weekend developments came a month after the university suspended him for three games for using an antigay slur while also denigrating Catholics during a radio interview.
The 69-year-old Huggins was pulled over by police in Pittsburgh on Friday night. He was charged with driving under the influence, was released from custody and will appear at a later date for a preliminary hearing, according to a police report.
In a statement to the West Virginia community on Saturday night, Huggins wrote: “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 intention to retire as head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University effective immediately.
“My recent actions do not represent the values of the University or the leadership expected in this role.”
In a separate statement Saturday night, West Virginia’s athletic department said it accepted the resignation “in light of recent events.”
“We support his decision so that 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.”
The university did not immediately name a replacement for Huggins.
On Friday night, an officer observed garbage bags with empty beer containers both inside the vehicle and in the trunk, according to a criminal complaint. Huggins said he had been to a basketball camp with his brother in Sherrodsville, Ohio. An officer said Huggins was asked multiple times what city he was in but never got a response. A breath test determined Huggins’ blood alcohol content was 0.21%, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08% in Pennsylvania. A blood sample also was taken from Huggins at a hospital before his release.
It was Huggins’ second such arrest. The other occurred in 2004 when he was the head coach at the University of Cincinnati.
In that case, Huggins pleaded no contest to driving under the influence in a suburb of Cincinnati and was ordered to attend a three-day intervention program. The University of Cincinnati suspended him indefinitely with pay and told Huggins to rehabilitate himself. Huggins was allowed to return to work two months later, saying that he “made a terrible mistake, and what bothers me most is I hurt other people. All I can do is work like crazy to be a better person, a better coach, be better at everything I do and make those people proud of me.”
By 2005, Huggins’ 16-year career at Cincinnati was over; he was fired amid a power struggle with the school’s president as well as the aftermath of the 2004 arrest.