Bob Huggins #
Introduction #
Bob Huggins, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who compiled 935 victories — the third-most in Division I men’s college history at his retirement — resigned from his alma mater West Virginia University on June 17, 2023, hours after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Pittsburgh. The arrest came just one month after the university suspended him for three games and cut his salary by $1 million for using an anti-gay slur and denigrating Catholics during a Cincinnati radio interview. Together, the two incidents ended a 16-year tenure at West Virginia and effectively closed a four-decade coaching career.
Background Information #
Huggins was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, and played collegiately at West Virginia before beginning a coaching career that took him to Walsh (1980-1983), Akron (1984-1989), Cincinnati (1989-2005), Kansas State (2006-07), and finally West Virginia, where he coached from 2007 until his resignation. At Cincinnati he reached the Final Four in 1992; at West Virginia he did so again in 2010. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2022, finishing with a 935-414 record, 25 NCAA Tournament appearances in 41 seasons, and at the time the active wins lead among all Division I coaches. His 935 wins trailed only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (1,015) among Division I coaches, though unlike them he never won a national title.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
The unraveling began on May 7, 2023, when Huggins, a guest on Cincinnati radio station WLW’s “Bill Cunningham Show,” was asked about Xavier — his longtime crosstown rival from his Cincinnati years — and the transfer portal. “Catholics don’t do that,” he said, before referring to Xavier fans as “Catholic (expletive)” twice during the segment. In an apology released through the university, Huggins called it “a completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that there is simply no excuse for.”
Less than six weeks later, on the night of June 16, 2023, Huggins was charged with driving under the influence in Pittsburgh after his SUV was found stopped in the middle of traffic with a shredded tire and the driver’s-side door open. According to the criminal complaint, a breath test measured his blood alcohol content at more than twice the legal limit, and he failed standard field sobriety tests. It was his second DUI arrest — the first came in June 2004 while he was coaching at Cincinnati, an episode that preceded his ouster there.
Public Reaction and Consequences #
The radio incident drew immediate national condemnation, and West Virginia disciplined Huggins two days later: a three-game suspension for the start of the 2023-24 season, a $1 million reduction to his scheduled $4.15 million salary — with the money directed to WVU’s LGBTQ+ Center, the Carruth Center, and other organizations supporting marginalized communities — mandatory sensitivity training, and a conversion of his multi-year contract to a year-by-year agreement. The university also notified Huggins that any similar derogatory language would result in immediate termination. “I have no excuse for the language I used, and I take full responsibility,” Huggins said at the time.
The DUI arrest one month later proved fatal to his tenure. Huggins submitted his resignation the following night, writing to President Gordon Gee and athletic director Wren Baker that he was “solely responsible” for his conduct and planned to focus on his health and family. “While I have always tried to represent our University with honor, I have let all of you — and myself — down,” he said. The athletic department accepted the resignation “in light of recent events,” saying it supported his decision so he could focus on his health and family. Players reacted emotionally, with newly transferred guard Kerr Kriisa writing on social media: “So thankful for really believing in me and taking me as part of your family forever. Love u coach.”
Current Status #
Huggins has not coached since his resignation. The arrest was his second on DUI charges, and his departure left West Virginia searching for leadership for its men’s basketball program in the middle of the offseason, with a transfer-portal recruiting class already assembled. He was charged with DUI, released from custody, and scheduled to appear at a later preliminary hearing; as with any criminal charge, the arrest itself was not a conviction. In his resignation statement, Huggins said Morgantown “will always be my home, and I will always be a Mountaineer.”
Impact on Their Career/Life #
The 2023 implosion ended one of the most decorated careers in college basketball history within a span of six weeks. A Hall of Famer and the sport’s active wins leader went from a three-game suspension to permanent retirement in a month, with both of his long coaching tenures — Cincinnati and West Virginia — having ended in the aftermath of drunken-driving arrests. The slur episode cost him $1 million of his salary and his multi-year contract; the DUI cost him the job itself. For West Virginia, the scandal forced a leadership overhaul, and for Huggins, a career built over four decades came to an abrupt, self-acknowledged end: “I must do better,” he wrote in his resignation letter.