Knight to come off Texas Tech payroll Wednesday
Texas Tech officials say Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight will come off the university's payroll next Wednesday.
University President Guy Bailey says that Knight, who stepped down as the Red Raiders coach in the middle of the 2008 season, has been in a fundraising role for Texas Tech, earning $24,000 a year.
"I think that the hiring of Bob Knight was the right person at the right time for Tech," Bailey said Friday. "He brought a lot of positive attention to the university, and even more important, he helped the university understand that we could play on a national stage across the board."
Knight's position was eliminated along with four others in the athletic department a couple of months after Kirby Hocutt became athletic director in March. Officials said $500,000 in salaries was cut from department's budget in the process.
Attempts to reach Knight for comment through his employer, ESPN, were unsuccessful Friday.
Knight is the winningest men's coach in Division I history with 902 wins. He came to Texas Tech in March 2001 after leading Indiana to three national championships.
Pat Knight, his younger son, coached Texas Tech after his father and was let go after 3 1/2 years. He now coaches at Lamar in Beaumont.
Knight was a college coach for 42 seasons. He broke in at Army in 1965, but made his mark at Indiana, including a perfect season in 1976 that hasn't been duplicated.
Knight's just as well known for his fiery temper, which got him in trouble on and off the court. Less than a month after stepping down at Texas Tech, Knight agreed to be a guest studio analyst for ESPN during the NCAA tournament. Later in 2008 Knight took on a commentator role for college games.