INDIANAPOLIS — Legendary Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight has died at the age of 83.
Knight's family announced his passing Wednesday on the coach's website:
"It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family. We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored. We will continue to celebrate his life and remember him, today and forever as a beloved Husband, Father, Coach, and Friend."
Knight's family asked those wishing to make a donation in the coach's memory to the Alzheimer's Association or to Marian University, or to the charity of their choosing in his name.
Marian University said the donations made in Knight's honor will go toward the Coach Bob Knight Endowed Scholarship, which was created in 2012. The university's director of athletics, Steve Downing, played for Knight from 1970 to 1973 and later coached with him at both IU and Texas Tech.
“I had the privilege of playing basketball for and coaching with coach Knight, and he was my mentor. He believed in the power of sports to shape character and foster teamwork. Our student-athletes at Marian uphold the tradition of excellence that Coach Knight instilled in me and his players," Downing said.
"As we collectively mourn the passing of Coach Knight, we also celebrate a man who will always be an integral part of Indiana University's rich and vibrant story. With unmatched accomplishment, Coach Knight's brilliance ensures he will forever rest among the giants of college basketball," IU President Pamela Whitten said in a statement.
A moment of silence was held for Knight before Indiana's women's basketball game Wednesday at Assembly Hall.
Outside the arena, fans have begun placing candles and flowers in memory of Knight at the base of the monument to the 1976 national championship team.
Knight's name has long been synonymous with IU men's basketball.
His 29-season resume includes a school-record 662 victories, 11 Big Ten championships, five Final Four appearances and three national titles.
And his stories have struck pride in the hearts of Hoosiers for decades — the Olympic gold medal he won in 1984 with Michael Jordan after cutting Charles Barkley; the infamous chair-throwing incident in 1985; and the firing that took place Sept. 10, 2000, causing the rift between Knight and the university.
University officials put Knight on a zero-tolerance policy earlier that year following an investigation into whether he had choked a former player, the late Neil Reed, during a practice. Then, in September, a student accused Knight of grabbing him in a hallway.
Knight responded by calling his own news conference, bringing witnesses to help explain his version. Two days later, the late Myles Brand announced Knight's firing.
That was his last appearance in the building for 20 years.
PHOTOS: Bob Knight (1940-2013)
Despite the tireless efforts of university officials, Knight refused every chance to come back.
He skipped championship team reunions and even declined to attend his own induction into the school's athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 because he said he didn't want his presence to detract from other class members.
Knight hadn't exactly been invisible around Bloomington or the state after the firing.
He took a job at Texas Tech, and then retired in 2008 with a then-record 902 career wins. He worked on ESPN as a color analyst. He gave speeches, attended fundraisers, signed autographs and attended basketball games and practices around Indiana.
And yet, everyone associated with Indiana basketball still had one question: Will he ever come back?
And then, in 2020, he finally did.
On Feb. 8, 2020, Knight took a short stroll from the practice gym to Assembly Hall, ending a 20-year journey home.
It seemed as if he never left.
When Knight walked through the tunnel and onto his old court for the first time since his firing in September 2000, the crowd went wild — chanting his name, roaring with approval, thanking him for all the success and banners he brought to Bloomington.
“It was one of the greatest and most emotional things for me," former player Randy Wittman, who had a key role in the reunion, said at the time. “I don't know if we'll see something like this again in college basketball. When he moved back here, I told him, 'You're back here because this is where you belong.'"
No, Knight didn't wear his trademark red sweater or throw a chair. But he did appear to get a little misty-eyed as the fans cheered.
“We love you, Bobby,” one shouted.
Knight did not speak to the crowd over the public address system. He didn't need to.
“I was standing there and he was coach Knight," Wittman said. “It was like he hadn't left that locker room. The words he gave to those players before they went out on the floor, it was fabulous."
The fans thought so, too, sending Knight home with one lasting chant: “Thank you, Coach. Thank you, Coach."