Knight, Bob (1940-2023), ranks among the most successful coaches in college basketball history. On Jan. 1, 2007, he won his 880th game as a men’s Division I head coach, breaking the record held by Dean Smith. Knight held the career record of 902 victories until it was broken by Mike Krzyzewski on Nov. 15, 2011. Knight was known for his ability to teach and motivate his players as well as for his controversial outbursts of temper. Knight was the coach at Indiana University from 1971 until 2000, when he was dismissed for what the university said was a pattern of inappropriate behavior. Knight coached at Texas Tech University from 2001 until he resigned on Feb. 4, 2008.
Knight’s Indiana teams won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments in 1976, 1981, and 1987 and the National Invitational Tournament in 1979. Knight coached United States basketball teams to gold medals in the 1984 Olympic Games and the 1979 Pan American Games.
Robert Montgomery Knight was born on Oct. 25, 1940, in Orrville, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University, where he played on the basketball team that won the 1960 NCAA championship. Knight coached the United States Military Academy basketball team from 1965 until he became head coach at Indiana University. He wrote an autobiography, Knight: My Story (2002). Knight died on Nov. 1, 2023.
