A familiar face on the West Liberty sidelines with an impressive coaching resume, Dr. Aaron Huffman brings more than two decades of successful coaching experience to the West Liberty men’s basketball staff for the 14th consecutive season.
During his time working with head coaches Ben Howlett and Jim Crutchfield, Huffman has helped guide West Liberty to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, a dozen conference championships, six conference tournament championships and eight NCAA Division II “Sweet 16s” to go along with seven
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region titles and “Elite Eight” National Tournament berths. During Huffman’s 13 seasons on the WLU bench, the team has posted an incredible 371-53 (.875)
record – tops among all NCAA men’s basketball programs, regardless of division. Huffman was named to the “50 Impactful Division II Assistants” by Silver Waves Media following the 2019-20 season.
Huffman began his coaching career at West Liberty as a women’s basketball assistant under Hilltopper Hall of Famer Lynn Ullom from 1999-01, helping the Hilltopper women reel off back-to-back West Virginia Conference regular season and tournament titles. He spent the 2001-02 season as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for West Liberty men’s coach Dan Petri before accepting the head men's basketball coaching job at nearby Bethany College in 2002. He enjoyed an incredibly successful run with the Bison, leading the program from 2002-08. A 3-time Presidents Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Huffman went 112-53 (.679) with Bethany, leading the Bison to three PAC regular-season titles and tournament crowns along with a trio of NCAA Division III tournament bids and an ECAC tournament berth.
Huffman returned to West Liberty in 2008-09 and rejoined Ullom's women's basketball staff. He helped lead the Black and Gold to three 20-win seasons and two NCAA Division II tournament bids before joining Coach Crutchfield’s men’s basketball staff.
A Professor of Education in the WLU College of Education and Human Performance, Huffman is a graduate of Waynesburg (Pa.) Central High School. After graduating from West Virginia University in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and a Mathematics minor, he earned his master’s in Athletic Coaching Education from WVU in 2000 and went on to earn his doctorate in Higher Education Administration from WVU in 2013, minoring in Higher Education Technology and Physical Education Teacher Education.
Huffman served as West Liberty’s Director of Athletics for the 2015-16 academic year and was WLU’s NCAA Compliance Coordinator and Athletic Facilities Building Supervisor from 2000-02. He had two separate stints as NCAA Compliance Coordinator at Bethany from 2002-04 and was Bethany’s Summer Athletic Facilities Supervisor from 2003-08. He is nationally licensed as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
Huffman and his wife, Courtney, a Professor of Dental Hygiene at WLU, reside in West Liberty with their three children, Jacob, Jillian and Joshua.
