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Update: Naismith Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Huggins resigned Saturday night.
Huggins, 69, said in a statement that his “recent actions do not represent the values of the university or the leadership expected in this role … I have let all of you — and myself — down.”
He told his players at a team meeting on Saturday.
“I take sole responsibility for my conduct and apologize to the university community — especially the student-athletes, coaches and staff in our program,” Huggins wrote in his statement. “I need to do better and I plan to focus on my health and my family in the next few months so I can be the person they deserve.”
Previously: West Virginia head basketball coach Bob Huggins — a great coach already on thin ice for using homophobic slurs — was charged with driving under the influence Friday night in Pittsburgh.
According to a Pittsburgh police report, Huggins was driving a black SUV around 8:30 p.m. when officers noticed his vehicle stopped in the middle of the road blocking traffic. The driver’s side door was open and the vehicle had a flat and shredded tire.
Upon questioning, officers said they had “strong suspicions to believe the male was intoxicated.”
Huggins failed standard field sobriety tests and officers observed “empty beer cans in a white trash bag of empty metal beer bottles. In the trunk of the vehicle was another white trash bag of empty metal beer bottles.
A breathalyzer test on Huggins came back with a .21. The legal limit in Pennsylvania is .08, meaning Huggins was booked at twice the legal limit.
The preliminary hearing in this regard was adjourned to a later date.
“West Virginia University is aware of an incident last night involving head men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins, for which he was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) in Pittsburgh. We are gathering additional information and will take appropriate action once the investigation is complete,” the school said in a statement.
Huggins, 69, was suspended by West Virginia for the first three games of the 2023-24 season after repeatedly using a homophobic slur in a podcast interview. He took a $1 million pay cut for the 2023-24 season and changed his contract from a multi-year deal to a year-to-year deal. He was also forced to undergo sensitivity training.
Huggins compiled a 935-414 (.693) record in 41 seasons as a head coach, including stints at Walsh College (1980-83), Akron (1984-1989), Cincinnati (1989-2005), and Kansas State (2006). -07) and West Virginia (2007-present).
