Indiana plans for a bronze statue of former coach Bob Knight in Assembly Hall lobby

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana plans to build a bronze statue of longtime coach Bob Knight inside Assembly Hall, where he led the Hoosiers to national championships in 1976, 1981 and 1987.

The announcement came Monday night while the Hoosiers were playing Oregon in a Big Ten game — and on the same night the school celebrated the 1975-76 team that remains the last undefeated national champ in Division I men's basketball.

School officials say Knight's statue will be placed next to one honoring the 1975-76 title team and will be funded by a longtime basketball donor who wants to remain anonymous.

“Coach Knight’s influence on the game of basketball is immeasurable, but his impact on this university and Hoosier basketball fans is even deeper,” athletic director Scott Dolson said in a statement. “On a personal level, having started my career here as a student manager under coach Knight, I saw firsthand the unparalleled standard of excellence he demanded. He taught me, and countless others, that success is the result of meticulous preparation and unwavering discipline. This statue will be a well-deserved tribute to a man who didn’t just win games; he changed how the sport is played.”

Knight won a school-record 662 games and 11 Big Ten titles during his tenure from 1971-2000. He was fired in September 2000 following an incident with a student in a hallway and later landed at Texas Tech, where he finished his career as Division I's winningest coach, with 902 wins.

He also was known for his fiery temper — and once throwing a chair during a home game against rival Purdue.

Knight died in October 2023 and still ranks sixth among all coaches in victories. He also won a gold medal as the coach of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team and is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, the National College Basketball Hall of Fame and Indiana's Athletics Hall of Fame.

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