Career as a player Huggins, who had relocated with his family from Morgantown, West Virginia, to Port Washington, Ohio, played basketball for his father, Charles, at Indian Valley South High School. He guided his squad to a 26-0 record as a senior. Huggins began his education at Ohio University. As a freshman on the basketball team in 1975-76, he averaged 4.0 points per game. As a sophomore in 1976-77, he increased that number to 13.1 points per game. In 1977-78, he scored 14.3 points per game.
After graduating from Ohio University in 1978, Huggins moved to California where he tried out for the Los Angeles Lakers but did not make the team. He then went back home and joined the Cincinnati Bearcats as a graduate student. In 1979-80, he appeared in 31 games for the Bearcats and averaged 5.4 points per game. The following season, he started all 34 contests and led the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game. After one more year with Cincinnati, Huggins returned home to West Virginia where he took over as head coach of the Pittsburg Piranhas of the National Basketball Development League (now called the NBA D-League). He stayed with the team for three seasons, leading them to the NBDL championship in their first year. In 2002, he became the men's basketball coach at Kansas State University but was fired after two seasons.
He is the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team and is known as "Huggy Bear." Huggins previously served as head coach at Walsh College (1980–1983), University of Akron (1984–1989), University of Cincinnati (1989–2005), and Kansas State University (2006–2007). He is a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2011.
His career record is 514-244. He has led his teams to three NCAA tournaments, including winning the first two games of the first round before losing to Duke University. He also has a 200-86 record at West Virginia.
Huggins was born on January 4, 1950 in Washington D.C.. He graduated from Archbishop Curley High School in 1968. In 1971, he entered Walsh College where he played center for the football and basketball teams. In 1973, he transferred to Akron where he stayed for one season before leaving to become an assistant under Rick Adelman at Cincinnati. In 2005, he returned to West Virginia to take over for John Beilein who had just been hired by Michigan.
He is married to Sue Ann Huggins and they have four children: Mark, Matt, Megan, and Ryan.
Mark played baseball at West Virginia and currently works in the athletic department there as a media relations manager. Matt is an assistant coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team.
Huggins, Charlie Fathers/Bob Huggins- Charlie Huggins, West Virginia University men's basketball coach Bob Huggins' father, has died. Charlie Huggins is a household figure in Ohio prep basketball circles, having led three teams to Class A state titles in 1967, 1972, and 1976. He also coached four other players who went on to play in the NBA.
He was born on January 4, 1931 in Parkersburg, West Virginia to Charles Huggins and Ethel Longstaff Huggins. He had two siblings: a brother, Joe, and a sister, Nancy.
As a youth, he showed an interest in sports and played baseball and football in high school. He then attended West Virginia University where he played center for the Mountaineers from 1949 to 1951. After graduating, he took over as head coach of his alma mater in 1952 and guided it to a 179-49 record before retiring after the 1975-76 season. During that time, he won two National Invitation Tournament titles and made another Final Four appearance. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1973 after leading WVU to its first No. 1 ranking in nearly 40 years.
After leaving coaching, he became an assistant at Kentucky under Adolph Rupp. He stayed with the Wildcats for seven seasons and helped them win NCAA championships in 1964 and 1966. In 1963, he served as a line judge at the event.
He played a season at Kansas State before returning to his old mater, West Virginia. Huggins led West Virginia to a Final Four participation in 2010, four more Sweet Sixteen visits, and ten NCAA tournament appearances. As a head coach, he is 900-381 with 25 NCAA tournament appearances and a 34-24 record. He is the winningest coach in WVU history.
He won a state championship as a player at West Virginia in 1955 and was an assistant under Bob Knight when West Virginia made its first Final Four appearance in 1979. Huggins replaced Knight as head coach after the '79 season and has never looked back. He's one of only three coaches in NCAA history (Kellie Harper of San Diego State and Sylvia Hatchell of Maryland) to lead his team to 1000 victories.
Huggins' best season came in 2009-10, when he led West Virginia to its first No. 1 ranking during the regular season. The Mountaineers finished that season 28-4 and lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
He has been named the National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press twice, in 1999-00 and 2008-09. Huggins was also selected as the National Coach of the Year by CBS Sportsline in 2008-09.
West Virginia has appeared in the NCAA tournament every year except for 1975 and 1996. Huggins' record is 90-37 in March.
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