West Virginia University assistant football coach Noel Devine, a former Mountaineers star and member of the school’s sports Hall of Fame, was arrested and booked Sunday, September 13, on a felony strangulation charge in Monongalia County, West Virginia, according to jail and court information reported by The Associated Press and local outlet WBOY.
Devine, 38, was booked into the North Central Regional Jail after an arrest by Morgantown police, the Associated Press reported. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf, and a magistrate ordered him held on $40,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 23. The charge is an accusation, not a finding of guilt, and Devine is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the case in court.
WBOY, citing the criminal complaint, reported that police were approached late Saturday by a woman who said she was involved in a domestic situation. The complaint, as described by the station, alleges that an encounter followed a disagreement outside a Morgantown bar and that Devine was later located at a nearby gas station and arrested. The underlying allegations have not been tested in court, and neither report identified a public response from Devine or an attorney representing him.
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said Sunday night that Devine had been placed on leave from the football program. Rodriguez said any decision about Devine’s future status would come after the university obtained more information. The university had not publicly announced further personnel action in the reports reviewed for this story.
The development lands at an unusually visible point in the college-football calendar. Devine had been on the sideline for West Virginia’s September 12 victory over UT Martin, and the team is early in its season under Rodriguez. For a program whose football alumni remain central to its public identity, the case is also a reminder that a former player’s celebrity within a fan base does not alter the legal standards that apply to an arrest or criminal charge.
Devine was one of the most recognizable offensive players of the late-2000s Mountaineers era. He was a three-year starting running back from 2007 through 2010, finished his college career as West Virginia’s all-purpose-yardage leader at the time, and was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. He later played professional football before returning to Morgantown in a coaching role. His high-school highlights and college career also made him an early internet-football cult figure, long before short-form social platforms became central to athlete branding.
That history explains the immediate attention around the booking, but it should not be confused with evidence in the criminal case. At this stage, the confirmed procedural facts are limited: Devine was arrested, booked, charged with felony strangulation, entered a not-guilty plea, and has a preliminary hearing scheduled. The next consequential questions—whether prosecutors proceed on the charge, what evidence is presented, and how the court rules—remain unresolved.