OK, I know what you’re thinking.
Didn’t I just write a column about Bob Huggins?
Yes. Yes, I did.
But at this point, I may have to start keeping a travel itinerary for the man – because if he keeps popping up around the region like this, I’m going to keep writing about him. Read more: The Bob Huggins tour rolls on
Last week, Huggins showed up at a Marshall basketball game decked out in full Thundering Herd gear. And this weekend? He turned up at one of his old stomping grounds, watching the Akron Zips – the program he coached from 1984 to 1989.
And he wasn’t just sitting quietly in the stands.
When he was introduced, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Forty years later, the love for Huggins in Akron is still real.
Huggins’ history
This wasn’t supposed to be a history column, but context matters.
Bob Huggins was born in Morgantown but grew up in Midvale, Ohio – which he once described as a town with “500 people, one stoplight, and nine bars.”
He was a standout point guard, earning Ohio Player of the Year honors in 1972. After starting his college career at Ohio University, he transferred to West Virginia University, where he played from 1975 to 1977.
In 99 career games, Huggins averaged 8.4 points per game. As a senior, he led the Mountaineers in assists, was named team MVP, and earned Academic All-America honors twice.
Not bad for a kid from a one-stoplight town.
Related: It’s complicated: Bob Huggins and West Virginia Basketball
The rise of a coaching legend
Huggins quickly transitioned into coaching, holding assistant roles at WVU, Ohio State, and UCF before landing his first head coaching job at Walsh University.
From 1980 to 1983, he went 71–26, won two NAIA district titles, and posted a perfect 30-0 regular season in 1982.
That success led to Akron. And Akron led to Cincinnati.
And Cincinnati made him a national powerhouse.
From 1989 to 2005, Huggins built the Bearcats into one of college basketball’s most consistent winners, compiling a 399–127 record, reaching the 1992 Final Four, making 14 straight NCAA Tournaments, and winning 10 conference titles.
But success didn’t come without controversy. Graduation rates lagged. Player arrests mounted. And a 2004 DUI ultimately led to his forced resignation in 2005.
The Mountaineer years
After one season at Kansas State, Huggins returned home to West Virginia in 2007 – and quickly restored the Mountaineers to national relevance.
During his WVU tenure, he went 345–203, reached the 2010 Final Four, made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, and won the 2010 Big East Tournament title.
And, of course, we all know how it ended.
The Appalachian tour
Now, seeing Huggins at Marshall in Herd gear was… unsettling.
Yes, I know he’s close friends with Tony Gibson. Yes, I understand the connection.
But still. It’s unpleasant. I’m sorry – it just is.
Still, the bigger takeaway from his recent appearances in Ohio and West Virginia is this:
Wherever Bob Huggins goes, the people who lived through his tenure still love him.
It’s been nearly three years since the DUI arrest and controversial radio comments that led to his WVU departure. Yet everywhere he appears lately, he’s being greeted with cheers – not jeers.
That matters.
Especially as he promotes his upcoming documentary, “Beyond the Bench: Bob Huggins Legacy,” set for release in April.
What comes next?
Ultimately, many WVU fans hope these public appearances are leading toward a reunion of sorts.
But let’s not get it twisted.
His exit from Morgantown was bitter. And if reconciliation is ever going to happen, there will need to be real effort to mend that divide.
Athletic Director Wren Baker has been navigating the fallout ever since. The Mountaineers are now on their third head coach since Huggins’ departure, and the program has essentially been reset twice.
That instability is real. And it’s frustrating.
There was a time when it felt inevitable that the Coliseum would one day bear Huggins’ name. Maybe even a statue outside.
Now?
Honestly, a standing ovation in Morgantown after a home game would be a good start.
