Noel Devine, 38, an assistant football coach at West Virginia University, has been placed on extended leave following his arrest this weekend on suspicion of strangling. Devine, an assistant running backs coach and offensive analyst, was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
The Magistrate Court of Monongalia County reports that at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, Noel Devine was taken into custody and placed in North Central Regional Jail on a felony count of strangulation. The court set his bond at $40,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for the morning of September 23rd.
“Upon receiving information of the arrest, I have immediately and indefinitely put Noel Devine on leave from the Mountaineer football coaching staff. Any future decision on his status will be determined after more information becomes available,” West Virginia head football coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement.
Noel Devine ranked third in rushing yards (4,315) and set program records for all-purpose yardage after playing at West Virginia from 2007 to 2010. Head coach Rich Rodriguez hired him as an assistant coach in January 2025. His son Andre is a running back on the current West Virginia team.
Court documents and a police report reveal several disturbing allegations
A criminal complaint states that on Saturday, September 12, when Morgantown police officers were helping EMS with an unrelated overdose, a woman approached them on High Street to report a domestic assault.
The woman told authorities that she had been visiting a bar with a friend. Devine allegedly traced her cell phone’s location and went to the bar to find her after calling and messaging her several times.
According to the complaint, Noel Devine pushed her up against his car, shoved her into the back seat, got on top of her, and started slapping and strangling her. Devine allegedly forced her back inside the vehicle when she tried to flee. When the victim’s friend and other customers left the bar, they heard the woman yell at Devine to let her go, and she managed to escape as the group got closer.
WDTV News reports that officers later reviewed the bar’s CCTV footage, which supported the woman’s account.
The woman first refused medical attention at the scene, but later she visited Ruby Memorial Hospital with terrible headaches and ongoing vomiting, which officials recognized as signs of strangulation.
Devine also allegedly followed her to the hospital, and when he tried to enter, employees reported him to the police. Officers apprehended Devine after finding him at a nearby gas station.
Police also filled out a Dangerousness-Lethality Information form during the original report, asking the victim whether Devine had ever choked her, threatened to kill her, followed or spied on her, or shown constant jealousy. The victim answered yes to all of these questions.