Hall of Fame college basketball coach Bob Huggins, who led teams to two Final Four appearances and 26 NCAA Tournament berths, has a progressive cognitive condition that “has begun to affect his memory and aspects of his daily life,” his family said in a statement.
Wednesday’s statement was jointly released by the Huggins’ family and the University of Cincinnati, where Huggins, 73, coached from 1989 to 2005. He is the Bearcats’ winningest coach with 399 victories, and spent the last 16 seasons of his coaching career at West Virginia, where he won 345 games and led the Mountaineers to the Final Four in 2010.
Huggins will be inducted into the University of Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, ESPN reported. He led the Bearcats to the Final Four in 1992.
“Although Bob and his family recognize the challenges that lie ahead, they remain focused on the relationships, experiences and moments that bring him joy,” the family’s statement said. “The family respectfully asks for privacy, compassion and understanding as they navigate this next chapter together.”
An update from the family of Bob Huggins https://t.co/FCsSvIlCy3
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) October 21, 2026
The family added that Huggins will be surrounded by family members and will not comment further on his health.
Huggins coached for 41 seasons, beginning with Walsh, which was then an NAIA school, ESPN reported. In addition to his years at Cincinnati and West Virginia, Huggins coached for five years at Akron and one year at Kansas State.
Overall, he won 935 games, including 864 at the Division I level.
Huggins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
[ West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins resigns after DUI arrest ]
He resigned at West Virginia in June 2023, a day after he was arrested in Pittsburgh on suspicion of driving under the influence.
The arrest came six weeks after Huggins used an anti-gay slur two times during in an interview with a Cincinnati radio station, ESPN reported.
Huggins quickly apologized, calling it an “insensitive and abhorrent phrase.” West Virginia suspended him for three games, reduced his salary by $1 million and amended his contract to a year-by-year agreement, according to WBOY.
In 2004, Huggins was convicted of a drunken driving charge while coaching at Cincinnati, ESPN reported. He was suspended for approximately two months after pleading no contest and was ordered to undergo rehabilitation.
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