Bob Huggins' family says the former University of Cincinnati coach is living with a progressive cognitive condition that has begun affecting his memory and aspects of his daily life. The news comes just days before Huggins, 73, is set to return to Cincinnati to be inducted into the university's James P. Kelly Athletics Hall of Fame on October 23.
The family said it had kept the diagnosis private for several months before going public, according to wcpo.com. In a statement reported by WLWT, Huggins' family said they remain focused on relationships, experiences, and moments that bring him joy despite anticipated challenges. The family also asked for privacy, saying neither Huggins nor his relatives would be available for interviews about his health or the upcoming induction.
A Homecoming Years in the Making
Despite the diagnosis, Huggins plans to return to Cincinnati for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony this weekend, per the same account from wcpo.com. He is expected to celebrate with former players and friends during the visit, supported by his wife, June, and daughters Jenna and Jacqueline, along with the rest of his family.
The induction caps a coaching career that began at Walsh University and wound through Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia over more than four decades, the station reported. Huggins coached the Bearcats from 1989 to 2005, a run that Cincinnati Athletics describes, via gobearcats.com, as producing the program's all-time leader with 399 wins — though Sports-Reference lists his Cincinnati record as 398-128, a discrepancy the two sources do not reconcile.
14 Tournament Trips and a Final Four Run
During his 16 seasons in Clifton, Huggins led the Bearcats to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, according to gobearcats.com, including a trip to the 1992 Final Four that the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame credits alongside a combined 18 regular-season and conference tournament championships. Cincinnati Athletics separately credits him with eight league tournament titles and 10 regular-season conference championships, while Sports-Reference lists 11 regular-season titles and 10 tournament championships — another figure the two record-keepers do not agree on.
Huggins later took West Virginia to the program's first Final Four since 1959, reaching that milestone in 2010, per the Hall of Fame's biography. Sports-Reference credits him with 345 wins during his tenure in Morgantown, part of a 38-year major-college coaching career that totaled 863 wins against 389 losses, a .689 winning percentage. Across 26 NCAA Tournament appearances as a head coach, Huggins compiled a 34-26 tournament record with two Final Four trips, and the Hall of Fame notes he finished with more than 900 wins at the collegiate level overall.
Cincinnati Athletics Offers Support
Huggins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022, a credential that preceded this month's campus honor. Cincinnati Athletics called Huggins one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history and said he restored Cincinnati basketball to national prominence while igniting passion for the Bearcats throughout the city, leaving what the department described as an indelible mark on generations of student-athletes.
The athletic department said it is welcoming Huggins and his family back to campus for the induction and expressed support for them as they navigate the diagnosis. Former players have already been reaching out: Terry Nelson and Corie Blount visited Huggins in Morgantown and delivered UC Bearcats gear, according to lionswire.usatoday.com. Huggins has expressed gratitude for the honor from the university as he prepares for a weekend that will reunite him with former players and friends across Cincinnati.
