West Virginia Mountaineers basketball coach Bob Huggins was arrested an charged with driving under the influence on Friday night in Pittsburgh.
As first reported by Jeff Jenkins of Metro News, Huggins was driving a black SUV around 8:30 p.m. local time on Merchant Street off Ridge Avenue. At that moment, officers observed his vehicle in the middle of the road obstructing traffic.
- Bob Huggins record: 863-389 career coaching record, 345-203 at West Virginia
When officers pulled up to the vehicle, they discovered the driver’s side door open with the tire flat and shredded to pieces.
Related: Bob Huggins takes massive pay cut to remain West Virginia coach
“Officers directed the male driver on how best to move off the road so they could help with the flat tire. When they observed him having difficulty maneuvering the SUV to allow vehicles to pass, they activated their lights to pull him over. Upon questioning, officers had strong suspicion to believe the male was intoxicated. They asked him to exit the vehicle to perform standard field sobriety tests, which he failed. The male was placed in custody without incident and transported for further testing.”
Police report on the arrest of West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins
Huggins was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. After being booked into custody, he was later released with a preliminary hearing scheduled for later this year.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Leslie Rubin of Eyewitness News WCHS-TV, Huggins blew a .210 on the breathalyzer when confronted by officers. Law enforcement also found empty beer cans in a trash bag on the passenger side floorboard and in the trunk of the vehicle.
The long-time basketball coach narrowly avoided being fired earlier this year. The Mountaineers’ coach came under scrutiny in May after he used a homophobic slur to describe Xavier fans during an appearance on Cincinnati’s radio station WLW.
- Bob Huggins salary: $3.15 million
Huggins later apologized and met with university officials regarding his future. Ultimately, West Virginia decided to keep Huggins as coach. The Mountaineers handed him a three-game suspension at the start of the 2023-’24 season and reduced his salary by $1 million.
Coming off a 19-15 season with an NCAA Tournament appearance, Huggins was already on thin ice at West Virginia because of his insensitive comments. Following his DUI arrest, his future with the Mountaineers is unclear.