West Virginia University has officially named its new interim coach to lead the school’s men’s basketball team, following the recent resignation of long-time coach Bob Huggins.
Administrators appointed assistant coach Josh Eilert to fill the vacant position, left open after Huggins’ stepped-down earlier this month shortly after he was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence in neighboring Pennsylvania.
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Eilert’s resume lacks previous head coaching experience, but, despite this, he emerged as athletic director Wren Baker’s choice to bring the Mountaineers upwards, following a less-than satisfactory offseason, with the start of practice just four months away.
“I spoke with knowledgeable basketball people around the country over the last week, including coaches, professional basketball executives and others of whom I trust to identify a strong group of candidates to speak with,” Baker said in a statement announcing the move Saturday evening.
“Ultimately what I came to recognize, was that conducting this search in late June was difficult for many of our candidates and also it put our talented student-athletes at a real disadvantage. With that said, we will conduct our national search at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season,” he added.
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Following his recent arrest, Huggins addressed the DUI arrest in a statement, saying, “My recent actions do not represent the values of the University or the leadership expected in this role. While I have always tried to represent our University with honor, I have let all of you — and myself — down.”
