IU Athletics has announced plans to build a statue in honor of Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight.
Here’s Monday night’s full release:
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – IU Athletics is proud to announce plans to commission and install a permanent bronze statue of the late IU Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Bob Knight.
The statue will be prominently displayed next to the 1976 National Championship statues in the south lobby of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, a facility that opened in 1971 during Knight’s first year in Bloomington. After his arrival, Knight transformed the IU Basketball program into a perennial national powerhouse over the next 29 years and established Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as one of the most respected venues in all of college sports.
Under Knight’s leadership from 1971-2000, IU captured three NCAA National Championships (1976, 1981 and 1987), an NIT title in 1979 and 11 Big Ten Conference regular season titles. Most notably, he led the 1975-76 squad to a perfect 32-0 season – a feat that still stands as the sport’s gold standard as the last undefeated championship in Division I men’s basketball.
Knight, who died in 2023, compiled a 662-239 record at Indiana, and his 902 coaching victories rank sixth-most in college basketball history. Knight is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential figures in the history of sports and is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, the National College Basketball Hall of Fame and the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.
“Coach Knight’s influence on the game of basketball is immeasurable, but his impact on this university and on Hoosier basketball fans is even greater,” said Scott Dolson, IU vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “On a personal level, when I began 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 not only won games; he changed the way the sport is played.”
Brian Hanlon of Hanlon Studios will design and fabricate the statue, and further details on the project’s timeline will be released in the coming months. The project is funded entirely by a longtime IU men’s basketball supporter who wishes to remain anonymous.
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