Knight, Bobby (1940—)

Perhaps no coach in all of sports has been reprimanded and disciplined as much as Indiana University head basketball coach Bobby Knight. Much to his displeasure, Knight's sideline and press conference antics have at times overshadowed his team's remarkable championship play. With his incredible personality and passion, Knight is one of a rare breed in the world of sports who transcends his game and becomes an icon in other worlds. Just the name Bobby Knight conjures images of thrown chairs and tirades at officials, even for the most casual of college basketball fans. These tantrums and erratic behavior sometimes shield the love Knight has for not only the game of basketball but his players as well.

As a child in Orrville, Ohio, young Bobby Knight played a number of sports growing up. His favorite, unquestionably, was baseball, and his idol was Mickey Mantle. He graduated from high school in 1956, earning letters in baseball, basketball, and football. After graduation, Knight entered Ohio State University to play basketball. There, Knight teamed with Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek to win one national championship in 1960 and make trips to the final game three times. While not a star on the court, Knight was a competent player. He took advantage of his position to learn everything Ohio State coach Fred Taylor had to offer. Knight graduated in 1962 and took an assistant coaching position in Cuyahoga Falls High School in Ohio while deciding his future.

Knight's close friend Tates Locke offered him an assistant coaching position at West Point in 1963. When Locke resigned, Knight took over the reigns and developed the West Point basketball team into a formidable one, winning 102 games and earning four trips to the National Invitational Tournament finals. It was at the U.S. Military Academy, where Knight's harsh discipline and coaching style evolved. He believed that discipline and hard work would bring out talent.

After six years at West Point, in 1971 Knight was offered the Big Ten coaching job he always wanted, at Indiana University. He achieved success during his early years there, leading the Hoosiers to the Final Four in 1973. After a Coach of the Year award in 1975, he led the Hoosiers to an undefeated season, a National Championship and a Coach of the Year award for himself in 1976. Knight won another national Championship in 1981, then again in 1987 with yet another Coach of the Year award. He led a talented team to earning the 1979 Pan American Games Gold Medal and coached the Olympic Gold Medal winners in the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles. With over 700 career coaching victories, Knight was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.

Bobby Knight remains one of the most respected and revered basketball coaches in the nation. His fiery attitude and refusal to lose have at times jeopardized his career and his team's success. He stresses not only discipline in the game, but in life as well. Graduation rates for his basketball players consistently rank as the best in the nation. Bobby Knight developed Indiana basketball into a national powerhouse and, in the process, made himself into one of the most recognizable figures in American sports.

—Jay Parrent

Further Reading:

Feinstein, John. A Season on the Brink—A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers. N.p. 1986.

Mellen, Joan. Bobby Knight—His Own Man. New York, Avon Books, 1989.