Huggins resigns as West Virginia coach following DUI arrest
Longtime West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins resigned and will retire following his DUI arrest, he announced Saturday.
"While I have always tried to represent our university with honor, I have let all of you - and myself - down," Huggins said in a statement. "I am solely responsible for my conduct and sincerely apologize to the university community - particularly to the student-athletes, coaches, and staff in our program.
"I must do better, and I plan to spend the next few months focused on my health and my family so that I can be the person they deserve."
Huggins met with his players and team staff earlier Saturday and told them he intended to step down, a source told Stadium's Jeff Goodman.
Huggins was arrested and charged with driving under the influence Friday in Pittsburgh. He registered a 0.21% blood alcohol content on an ensuing breath test - over double the legal limit of 0.08% in the state of Pennsylvania.
Police said Huggins' car was stopped in the middle of a road blocking traffic. His driver's side door was open and one of the tires was "flat and shredded." After questioning him, officers had a "strong suspicion" Huggins was intoxicated, according to a police statement.
On multiple occasions, Huggins was unable to state where he was or how he had arrived at his location, according to the police criminal complaint obtained by CBS Sports' Matt Norlander. Huggins said he thought he was in Columbus. After exiting the vehicle, he failed multiple standard field sobriety tests, prompting police to place him in custody.
It was Huggins' second DUI arrest. He was arrested for the same infraction in June 2004 while head coach at Cincinnati, to which he plead no contest.
In May, West Virginia suspended the 69-year-old for three games this coming season and reduced his $4.15-million salary by $1 million after he used an anti-gay slur and insulted Catholics on a live radio show.
Huggins joined the Mountaineers as head coach in 2007. He made his Division I head coaching debut in 1984 with Akron before moving to Cincinnati, with which he spent 16 seasons. After one season with Kansas State in 2006-07, he took over the basketball program at his alma mater, West Virginia, and led the program to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Final Four in 2010.
He owns a career record of 934-415 and ranks fifth all time in wins by a head coach.
Huggins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.