(HorizonPost.com) – Bob Huggins, the coach of West Virginia University’s basketball team resigned Saturday after being charged with a DUI in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last Friday, the New York Times reported.
In a statement published at the WVU Sports website, Huggins announced that he sent a letter to the University’s president and director of athletics notifying them that he was resigning as head coach “effective immediately.”
Huggins took sole responsibility for his conduct and apologized to the university community, particularly the athletics program, saying “I have let all of you – and myself – down.”
According to the Pittsburgh Police Department, officers discovered a black SUV belonging to Huggins blocking traffic Friday evening, with the driver’s side door open and one of the tires was “shredded” and flat.
When the officers instructed Huggins to move his vehicle off of the road, he had difficulty maneuvering. The officers gave Huggins a field sobriety test, which he failed.
A search of Huggins’ vehicle turned up a bag filled with empty beer cans. A second bag full of cans was discovered in the trunk. When asked by officers if he knew where he was, Huggins told them “Columbus,” according to the complaint. Huggins blood-alcohol level was 0.210, almost three times Pennsylvania’s legal limit of 0.08. Huggins was charged and released from custody. He will appear at a preliminary hearing at a later date.
The 69-year-old Huggins was the top-winning active coach of any Division I men’s basketball team, with 863 wins. In 38 seasons as the head coach at West Virginia, Akron, Cincinnati, and Kansas State, Huggins led his teams to 26 NCAA tournaments, including two trips to the NCAA Final Four. In a statement Saturday night, WVU thanked Huggins for his time as coach, saying he was devoted to the players, the fans, the university community, “and to all West Virginians.”
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