Former UC beat writer shares stories of covering Bob Huggins | That's So Cincinnati

No matter where you go in Cincinnati, everyone knows who Bob Huggins is.

Huggins, 73, is the all-time winningest men's basketball coach in University of Cincinnati history. He coached the team from 1989 to 2005, leading the Bearcats to 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1992 Final Four.

Though his ending in Cincinnati was a messy one, with then-UC President Nancy Zimpher giving him an ultimatum to resign or face termination, he still commands respect and admiration from fans and former players.

And on Oct. 23, he'll return to UC, where he'll be inducted into the James P. Kelly Athletics Hall of Fame. However, the homecoming is bittersweet as the Naismith Hall of Fame basketball coach is "living with a progressive cognitive condition that has begun to affect his memory and aspects of his daily life," his family announced Oct. 21.

In the statement, the family said they've kept the news private "for several months" but felt it was appropriate to share his condition before the 73-year-old is inducted into the University of Cincinnati James P. Kelly Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 23.

An update from the family of Bob Huggins pic.twitter.com/FCsSvIlCy3

— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) October 21, 2026

Ahead of his induction, Bill Koch, who covered Huggins' 16-year tenure at UC for The Enquirer and Cincinnati Post, along with Enquirer columnist Jason Williams, joined the "That's So Cincinnati" podcast to talk about the coach's lasting legacy and share a few classic "Huggs" stories.

The news of Huggins' health hit Koch and Williams hard, much like the rest of the city and sports world, but especially for Koch, who's the same age as the former coach.

In 2022, Koch, who retired from The Enquirer in 2014, published a book called "Huggs." For the book, he interviewed nearly 40 former Huggins players, allowing each to tell their personal stories. According to Williams, the book is a real treat for UC fans because Koch landed interviews with all of Huggins' legendary Bearcats players like Kenyon Martin, Danny Fortson, Nick Van Exel, Corie Blount, Steve Logan and so many others. He also interviewed Huggins, who's amassed more than 900 career wins and taken his teams to 25 NCAA tournaments.

If you want to hear untold stories of Huggins and how much he means to Cincinnati and sports, take a listen to the "That's So Cincinnati" podcast at the top of the page.