Ex-West Virginia coach Bob Huggins enters diversion program after DUI arrest

Former West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins has entered a 12-month diversion program to resolve his DUI arrest earlier this summer, according to The Associated Press.

Huggins, who has been in the middle of a very messy exit from West Virginia, was initially set for an arraignment this week in Pittsburgh after he was arrested there June 16. That hearing, however, was canceled after he was accepted into a diversion program — which he can complete in six months if he meets all conditions of the probation period.

Huggins’ drivers license was suspended for at least 60 days as part of the deal. He must also complete an alcohol treatment program and he was fined nearly $3,000.

Bob Huggins’ tumultuous exit from West Virginia

Huggins had a very chaotic exit from West Virginia this summer.

In May, the longtime coach used an anti-gay slur during an appearance on a Cincinnati ratio station. West Virginia suspended him for three games and reduced his salary by $1 million after that incident.

Then in June, police officers in Pittsburgh reportedly found Huggins’ car blocking a road with one of his tires shredded. Huggins later reportedly failed a field sobriety test and then blew a .210 on a breathalyzer. Officers allegedly found a trash bag with empty beer cans on the passenger-side floor of his car, too. He was arrested and charged with a DUI, which marked his second known DUI arrest.

One day after that arrest, West Virginia announced in a statement that Huggins had resigned and intended to retire from coaching altogether. Huggins, however, later claimed that the statement wasn’t written by him and that he still planned to return to coaching. Then last month, Huggins doubled down on that claim in a statement that seemed like he released it from a “world-class rehabilitation center,” and said he was still employed at West Virginia.

West Virginia has pushed back on those claims repeatedly. The school has promoted assistant Josh Eilert to replace Huggins in an interim capacity for next season. Several Mountaineers players have since transferred out of the program, too.

Huggins, who is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, was the winningest active head coach in college basketball with 935 career wins before his exit. Huggins, 69, won 10 conference tournament titles and reached the Final Four twice while coaching at West Virginia, Kansas State, Cincinnati, Akron and Walsh.