History repeats for Huggins trouble

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) - Click here for a full breakdown with Ally Osborne: https://bit.ly/3JlyYzD

Last night, in the shadow of Acrisure Stadium, Bob Huggins was arrested by Pittsburgh Police for a DUI Charge at 8:30 P.M. West Virginia University released a statement that action will be taken after a further review. If you’re familiar with Huggins’ legacy, this story may sound all too similar; that’s because these very same events culminated with Huggins’ departing University of Cincinnati in 2005.

The prior arrest occurred in 2004 when Huggins was found in Fairfax Ohio after visiting recruits for the Bearcats. Shown in the body camera footage released three days after the 2004 incident, vomit was found on the driver’s side window and Huggins’ speech slurred. Huggins failed a sobriety test that night. According to reports from WCPO Cincinnati, Huggins uttered “Don’t do this to me,” as he cooperated with police.

On June 13th, 2004, Huggins was suspended indefinitely by the University of Cincinnati over the summer. The acting Athletic Director at the time, Bob Goin, said the suspension was for Huggins to “address any personal matters he has ignored.” Huggins gave a teary-eyed apology for the arrest and was later reinstated as coach for the 2004-2005 season, just before the Bearcats entered the Big East Conference.

It was in 2005 when Huggins was asked to leave the program by the newest university president Nancy Zimpher. Huggins and Cincinnati had been negotiating a contract extension for months, and the Bearcats administration declined to activate a clause extending Huggins’ contract for another four years. According to ESPN, recruiting for the Bearcat’s after the 2004 DUI was a struggle for Huggins.

In the final letter delivered to the coaches’ representatives, Zimpher and the University offered Huggins a transfer to a job outside of the basketball team with a salary of $2.77 million for three years or be fired. Huggins, given 24 hours to respond to the written offer, declined and left the program for a year sabbatical.

18 years later, Huggins was arrested again on charges of DUI by Pittsburgh Police. Huggins’ arrest trails another previous scandal where the head coach uttered a homophobic slur on a Cincinnati radio show in May. After that incident, Huggins’ contract with West Virginia University was altered from multi-year to yearly with a $1 million pay cut.

WVU President Gordon Gee said in part after Huggins’ contract was changed, “any incidents of similar derogatory and offensive language will result in immediate termination.”

Whether that statement unintentionally alludes to the outcome of the current investigation into Huggins is yet to be confirmed.

Huggins is currently the winningest active coach in NCAA Men’s Basketball, with 24 total NCAA Tournament appearances. He’s only the second coach to have over 300 wins at two schools. Huggins’s tenure with WVU started in 2007.