It wasn’t under the best of circumstances, but Bob Huggins announced his resignation as head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men’s basketball team on June 17. The news comes just one day after the 69-year-old was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), ending his 46-year coaching career.
“My recent actions do not represent the values of the University or the leadership expected in this role. … I have let all of you — and myself — down,” Bob Huggins wrote in a statement on Saturday (June 17). He was named head coach of West Virginia in 2007-08 and recently completed his 16th season in that role.
“I am solely responsible for my conduct and sincerely apologize to the University community — particularly to the student-athletes, coaches and staff in our program.” Following his resignation, Bob Huggins confirmed he was also retiring from coaching – marking the end of a legendary and iconic head coaching career.
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Where Does Bob Huggins’ Wins Total Rank All-Time?
During his 46 years as a basketball head coach, Bob Huggins led his team to a 935-414 (.693) record – which includes a 71-26 (.732) record with Walsh, 97-46 (.678) record with Akron, 399-127 (.759) record with Cincinnati, 23-12 (.657) record with Kansas State, and 345-203 (.630) record with West Virginia.
While he failed to reach the coveted 1,000-win mark at the college level, Bob Huggins’ 935 wins has him ranked among the best college basketball coaches of all-time. In fact, his 935 wins ranks 8th all-time in men’s college basketball history and 15th all-time if you include women’s college basketball coaches.
Yes, that means there are only seven men’s college basketball coaches and seven women’s college basketball coaches with more wins than Bob Huggins – and only three of those coaches (one male, two female) are active. With that said, let’s take a look at who those 14 college basketball coaches are!
14. Muffet McGraw – 936 wins
Muffet McGraw played college basketball at Saint Joseph’s University between 1974 and 1977 before being named head coach at Archbishop Carroll High School in Philadelphia, PA. She left the school in 1979 and was hired as an assistant coach at Saint Joseph’s – where she spent the next three years.
Between 1982 and 1987, McGraw coached the women’s basketball team at Lehigh University to an 88-41 (.682) record. After five seasons, she joined Notre Dame as head coach and led the team to an 848-252 (.771) record between 1987 and 2020 – helping to establish the team as one of the best in the nation.
By the time she retired, McGraw was a 2-time NCAA champion, 5-time ACC champion, 5-time MCC champion, and Big East champion in 2013. She made 9 trips to the Final Four was a 4-time AP Coach of the Year, 3-time Naismith Coach of the Year, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of FAme in 2017.
13. Glenn Robinson – 967 wins
Glenn Robinson played both college basketball and baseball at West Chester University – graduating in 1967 and being inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2004. He was hired as an assistant coach at Franklin & Marshall in 1968 and was later named the head coach in 1971 – the start of something special.
He went on to spend the next 48 years at the school and is now the all-time leader in wins in Division III men’s basketball history. The Diplomats went just 7-14 in his first year as head coach, but he turned the team into a dynasty that won at least 20 wins in 28 different seasons – including a 29-3 record in 1995-96.
Robinson led F&M to a 967-360 (.729) record, which included a 45-28 record in the NCAA Tournament, 19-9 record in the CC Tournament, and 22-7 record in the MAC Tournament. They made 23 NCAA Tournament (DIII) appearances under Robinson, including 16 Sweet 16 and 10 Elite 8 appearances.
12. Jim Boeheim – 1,015 wins
Jim Boeheim played college basketball at Syracuse University after joining the freshman team as a walk-on and was the varsity captain a few years later. He played several years of pro basketball in the Eatern Professional Basketball League before earning a graduate degree from Syracuse in 1973.
By that time he had already spent four years with the men’s basketball team as a graduate assistant – he was hired in 1969 and eventually earned a role as the team’s full-time assistant coach. In 1976, he was hired as the seventh head coach in campus history and remained in that role for more than 45 years.
Between 1976 and 2023, Boeheim led the Orange to a 1,015-441 (.697) record – which doesn’t include the 101 games he had vacated by the NCAA in 2015. He made 33 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 20 trips to the Sweet 16, 7 trips to the Elite 8, 5 trips to the Final Four, and won the title once.
11. Sylvia Hatchell – 1,023 wins
Sylvia Hatchell attended Carson-Newman College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education before earning her master’s degree at the University of Tennessee. Being a college basketball coach was something she never thought would be in her future, but that all started to change in 1974.
It was in 1974 that she started coaching women’s JV basketball and the passion continued to grow from there. She was hired as the head coach at Francis Marion University in 1975 and remained in that role for 11 years, at which point she became the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Throughout her 44-year coaching career, Hatchell led her teams to a 1,023-405 (.716) record – including 272 wins at Francis Marion and 751 wins at North Carolina. She led the Tar Heels to three Final Four appearances and one National title in 1994 – she was also a two-time National Coach of the Year.
10. Danny Miles – 1,040 wins
Danny Miles was a talented athlete growing up – excelling in baseball, football, and basketball in high school (Medford High School) and college (Southern Oregon University). He began his coaching career in 1970 when he was hired as an assistant for Oregon Tech’s baseball, football, and basketball teams.
It wasn’t long before Miles was hired as head coach of both the men’s baseball and men’s basketball teams, while also serving as offensive coordinator of the football team. He went on to serve 45 years as head coach of the men’s basketball team and led the team to an impeccable 1,040-437 (.704) record.
Under his leadership, the Owls made 17 NAIA National Tournament appearances and were crowned champion on three occasions – 2004, 2008, and 2012. The Owls also won nine Conference Tournaments (including four-straight) and were the Conference regular season champions 14 times during his career.
9. Dave Holmquist – 1,041 wins
Dave Holmquist played college basketball at Cypress College and Biola University between 1970 and 1974 before embarking on a legendary coaching career. He was first hired as head coach at Fresno Pacific University, where he spent three years between 1975 and 1978 – he led them to a 36-43 record.
In 1978, Holmquist was hired to be the co-head coach at Biola University – his alma mater. He remained in that role for the next 10 years until Howard Lyon resigned, making Holmquist the lone head coach in 1988. He’s still the men’s head coach to this day and has been with the school for nearly 50 years now.
In addition to his 36 wins at Fresno Pacific, Holmquist has led Biola to a 1,005-386 (.723) record over the past 45 years and will continue to add to his wins total in the coming years. He has also served as Biola’s athletic director for 27 years between 1989 and 2016. He’s one of five men’s coaches with 1,000+ wins.
8. C. Vivian Stringer – 1,055 wins
Charlaine Vivian Stringer was a four-sport athlete at Slipper Rock University of Pennsylvania – excelling in basketball, softball, volleyball, and field hockey. She began her coaching career in 1972 when she was hired as the head coach at Cheyney State – leading them to a 251-51 (.831) record over 12 seasons.
After a successful stint at Cheyney State, Stringer became the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of Iowa. She led the team to a 269-84 (.762) record – which included nine trips to the NCAA Tournament, four trips to the Sweet 16, three trips to the Elite 8, and one trip to the Final Four.
In 1995, following a 12-year stint at Iowa, Stringer became the head coach at Rutgers University. She spent 27 seasons with the program before retiring at the end of the 2021-22 season. She led the school to a 535-291 (.648) record and made 17 NCAA Tournament appearance – they were runner-ups in 2007.
7. Barbara Stevens – 1,058 wins
Barbara Stevens was a three-sport athlete at Bridgewater State College, excelling in basketball (point guard, captain), softball, and tennis (captain). She graduated in 1976 and immediately began a career in coaching – she spent one year as an assistant coach at Clark University before being named head coach.
Stevens led Clark to a 123-42 (.759) record in six seasons as head coach, but couldn’t duplicate that success in her three years at the University of Massachusetts – she failed to lead them to a winning record and was just 34-49 (.410), but it was an improvement from their performance in before her arrival.
In 1986, she was named the head coach at Bentley University. Stevens spent the next 34 seasons with the team and led them to a 901-200 (.818) record during that time – including a perfect 35-0 in 2013-14, the same year they were named NCAA Division II National Champions. They were runner-ups in 1990.
6. Pat Summitt – 1,098 wins
Pat Summitt started playing basketball early in her life and her parents even moved from Clarksville to Henrietta so she could join a girls team. She went on to earn All-American honors as a player at the University of Tennessee at Martin before co-captaining the women’s national team at the 1976 Olympics.
Two years prior to that, she began her coaching career at the University of Tennessee – where she would spend the next 38 years. The Lady Volunteers (Vols) had a 1,098-208 (.841) record during that time and made the NCAA Tournament every year between 1982 and 2012 – 31 consecutive years in the tourney.
She won eight national titles, made 18 Final Four appearances, and won 16 SEC Tournaments as head coach of the Lady Vols. She was a five-time Naismith Coach of the Year, won Best Coach/Manager at the 2008 ESPYs, and was even awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 by Barack Obama.
5. Harry Statham – 1,122 wins
Harry Statham grew up in a household that valued education and the importance of earning a college degree. He graduated from McKendree College with a bachelor’s degree in 1960 before attending the University of Illinois – where he earned himself a Master of Science degree in physical education.
While at Illinois, he serves as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball team – as well as the men’s track and field team. He also had experience coaching men’s basketball at the junior high and high school level between 1960 and 1966, at which point he was hired to be the head coach at McKendree College.
In 46 years with the program, Statham led the Bearcats to a 1,122-513 (.686) record – becoming just the fifth college basketball coach to earn at least 1,100 wins at any level. The Bearcats made 40 postseason appearances under Statham’s leadership and he also served as athletic director between 1966 and 2010.
4. Herb Magee – 1,144 wins
Herb Magee played college basketball at Philadelphia University, where he was teammates with Jim Lynam (former 76ers’ head coach) and Jim Boyle (former St. Joseph’s head coach). He was drafted by the Celtics in 1963, but opted to start a career in coaching – joining his alma mater as an assistant coach.
He was named head coach of Philadelphia Textile (later known as Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University) in 1967 – he was just 25 years old at the time – and remained in that role for the next 54 seasons. During that time, Magee led the Rams to an impeccable 1,144-450 (.718) record.
His ability to improve anyone’s jumpshot earned him the moniker ‘Shot Doctor’ – a title he takes great pride in. His leadership led the Rams to a Division II National Championship in 1970, five CACC titles between 2008 and 2018, and even earned him a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame (Class of 2011).
3. Geno Auriemma – 1,180 wins
Geno Auriemma was born in Montella, Italy and moved to the US with his parents at just 7 years old. He was forced to teach himself how to speak English and eventually made his way through secondary school – graduating from West Chester University in 1977. He started his coaching career almost immediately.
He was hired as an assistant coach at Saint Joseph’s University in 1978, an assistant coach at Bishop Kenrick High School in 1979, and an assistant coach at the University of Virginia in 1981 – where he spent four years before being named the newest head coach at the University of Connecticut in 1985.
He has spent the past 38 years coaching the women’s basketball team at UCONN and has built quite the dynasty – establishing the Huskies as one of the greatest programs in the nation. The team has a 1,180-156 (.883) record under Auriemma and has won 11 national titles between 1995 and 2016.
2. Tara VanDerveer – 1,186 wins
Tara VanDerveer played college ball at SUNY Albany (one year) and Indiana University Bloomington (three years). Unable to afford law school, she returned home and started coaching her sister’s basketball team – where she learned of her passion for coaching. It was the start of something extremely special.
She was hired as an assistant coach at Ohio State, but also served as head coach of their JV squad before being named head coach at the University of Idaho. She spent two years at the school before returning to Ohio State as head coach for five seasons. She was hired by Stanford University in 1985.
VanDerveer is still with the Cardinal to this day and has led the team to a 1,034-214 (.817) record over the past 38 years – making 14 Final Four appearances and winning three national titles (she was runner-up on two occasions. She also earned 110 wins at Ohio State University and 42 wins with the Idaha Vandals.
1. Mike Krzyzewski – 1,202 wins
Mike Krzyzewski played college basketball at the United States Military Academy at West Point (Army) between 1966 and 1969. He spent the next five years as an officer in the U.S. Army before beginning what would be a legendary and iconic career as head coach at Army and, more notably, Duke University.
In his five seasons with Army, Krzyzewski led the Cadets (now known as the Black Knights) to a 73-59 (.553) record – he led them to one NIT appearance in 1977-78, but failed to make it out of the first round. He was then hired as the head coach at Duke in 1980 – where he spent the next 42 years before retiring.
He led the Blue Devils to a 1,129-309 (.785) record during that time and made it to the NCAA Tourney in all but five of those years. He’s a 5-time NCAA Division I champion, three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year, made 13 Final Four appearances, and was named runner-up on four occasions as head coach.
What’s Next for Bob Huggins and West Virginia?
Bob Huggins spent the past 16 seasons as head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers basketball coach. During that time, the team won the Big East Conference Tournament once (2010) and made 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament, but only made it to the Final Four on one occasion – doing so in 2010.
Now that Bob Huggins is out of the picture, the Mountaineers will move forward (temporarily) with interim head coach Josh Eilert – who spent 17 seasons on Bob Huggins’ staff (both Kansas State and WVU). He has been patiently waiting for his opportunity and will now serve as a head coach for the first time in his career.
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On July 2, Eilert officially announced his coaching staff for the upcoming season. Da’Sean Butler, DerMarr Johnson, Jordan McCabe, and Alex Ruoff will serve as assistant coaches. Butler, McCabe, and Ruoff played at WVU under Huggins, while Johnson played under Bob Huggins while he was coaching Cincinnati.
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