(DailyDig.com) – Hoosiers basketball coach Bobby Knight, who led Indiana University to three NCAA titles during his tenure, died on November 1 at the age of 83. He was at home in Bloomington, Indiana, with his loved ones.
During his 29 years coaching at Indiana, Knight won three national titles and reached five Final Fours. In 1965, he became the Army’s head coach, and from 1971 to 2000, he led the Hoosiers. From 2001 until 2008, he led Texas Tech as head coach.
His loved ones have expressed their appreciation for the outpouring of support and have asked that their privacy be respected in the meantime. He was a cherished husband, father, friend, and coach, and his memory will go on in perpetuity.
Both the basketball and college basketball halls of fame have honored Knight. He entered the former in 1991 and the latter in 2006.
Knight’s off-court antics, including the infamous chair-throwing incident, attracted as much attention as his on-court successes.
After repeated violent confrontations, which the school deemed inappropriate behavior, he refused to resign and was dismissed in 2000. In 2020, he came back for a celebration in his honor and was met with thunderous applause.
Knight’s greatest success came as a coach on the court. His 902 victories out of 1,273 total games coached rank him sixth all-time among coaches in Division I’s history of men’s collegiate basketball.
During his twenty-nine years at Indiana, Knight made it to the NCAA tournament twenty-four times and won an Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles as coach of the United States team in 1984.
While playing at Ohio State, Knight helped the Buckeyes to a national title in 1960. In addition to Joe B. Hall and Dean Smith, he shared the honor of playing for and also coaching a national championship. He is the only coach in history to win the National Invitation Tournament, the Pan American Games, the national championship, and the Olympic gold medal in basketball.
Following his coaching career, Knight worked as a commentator on ESPN from 2008 until 2015.
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