Former UC basketball coach Bob Huggins resigns from West Virginia after DUI arrest

Editor's note: This story is updated to reflect new reporting that Bob Huggins will resign from being the head coach of West Virginia University men's basketball.

Former Cincinnati Bearcats coach Bob Huggins will reportedly resign his position with the West Virginia Mountaineers, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. Huggins, who was arrested Friday night for suspicion of DUI, will no longer lead the program.

Original story: Former UC basketball coach Bob Huggins was arrested on a DUI charge Friday night.

According to a police report out of Pittsburgh, around 8:30 p.m. Friday, a black SUV was spotted in the middle of the road with the driver's side door open. The vehicle had a flat, shredded tire.

Officers responded and asked Huggins to move the vehicle out of traffic. They noticed he was struggling and suspected he was intoxicated. Field sobriety tests were performed, which Huggins failed.

He was charged with driving under the influence and released from custody. He will appear at a preliminary hearing at a later date.

From a criminal complaint released later Saturday, a garbage bag with empty beer cans was found in the vehicle as well as a cooler that was still wet. After some failed breathalyzer attempts, Huggins blew a .210. The legal limit for a DUI conviction in Pennsylvania is .08 percent.

He also complied to a blood draw test which was conducted at Pittsburgh's Mercy Hospital.

Statement from West Virginia

Late Saturday morning, the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Department issued the following:

"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 the City of Pittsburgh. We are gathering more information and will take appropriate action once the review is complete."

Huggins has a previous DUI

Huggins previously had a DUI in Cincinnati in 2004, which resulted in a suspension from his then-University of Cincinnati team. He returned to coach the team for one season, then resigned as his contract was not going to be renewed.

After a year away from the game, Huggins was hired by Kansas State. He spent one year with the Wildcats before coming to Morgantown to coach his alma mater, West Virginia. He's won 935 games overall in his college career and took West Virginia to the Final Four in 2010, just as he did Cincinnati in 1992.

Last year he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Apology for homophobic slur on radio show

However, 2023 has been difficult for Huggins off the court. In an impromptu interview on the "Bill Cunningham Show" on 700WLW he used a homophobic slur when referring to Xavier University fans. He later apologized and promised a donation to Xavier as a result.

Because of the radio incident, West Virginia President E. Gordon Gee suspended Huggins for the first three games of the season and his contract has been amended to where it's year-by-year. Huggins and all current and future athletic coaches also have to attend training sessions with West Virginia's LGBTQ+ Center.

Now Gee will have to consider the recent charges against Huggins. Making it more difficult is the fact many observers feel the Mountaineers made tremendous strides in the transfer portal for this upcoming season.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins resigns after DUI arrest