Hall Of Fame Indiana Coach Bob Knight Dies at 83

Wednesday afternoon, the family of three-time national champion coach Bob Knight released the following statement:

“It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family.  We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored.  We will continue to celebrate his life and remember him, today and forever as a beloved Husband, Father, Coach, and Friend.”

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1719848502342107437

Life and Legacy

Robert Montgomery Knight was born Oct. 25, 1940, in Orrville, Ohio. He was a prep basketball, baseball and football star at Orrville High School.

While a player at Ohio State, Knight’s team put together an overall record of 78-6. The Buckeyes won the national title in 1960, while Knight was 0-for-1 with one personal foul in a 75-55 win over California in the title game, averaging 3.7 points as a sub that season. His Ohio State team also captured Big Ten titles during all three of Knight’s seasons.

Coaching Career

After Knight’s college career ended, he went into coaching.  Knight began his coaching career from 1965 to 1971 at Army, going 102-50.

Knight then moved to Indiana, where his Hoosiers went 662-239 from 1971 to 2000. He won national titles there in 1976, 1981 and 1987. Knight coached the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers to the most recent undefeated season in NCAA history, which Indiana University board of trustees chair Quinn Buckner commented on in a statement.

“One of the things that he said to our 1976 team, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of, was that you may never see another team like this again,” Buckner said.

Knight compiled a career record of 902-371 over the course of his legendary coaching career in Indiana.

Bob Knight has passed away at the age of 83.

1x NCAA Champion (player)
3x NCAA Champion (coach)
5x Final Four
11x Big Ten Champion
3x AP Coach of the Year
1x Naismith Coach of the Year
1991 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee

A true legend. pic.twitter.com/7GSDd1y3Ty

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 1, 2023

In 1984, Knight coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Los Angeles, the last American amateur team to claim Olympic gold. Knight then left his most notable career institution to become the basketball coach at Texas Tech in 2001. This event occurred six months after being fired by Indiana. In Knight’s six full years at Texas Tech, he led the Red Raiders to five 20-win seasons, a first at the school. He became the winningest Division 1 basketball coach at the time during this period.

Knight resigned as Texas Tech’s basketball coach in the middle of the 2008-09 season. He later worked as a college basketball analyst for ESPN.

Bob Knight was elected and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991, and is survived by his wife, Karen, and sons, Tim and Pat.