Legendary college basketball coach Bobby Knight has passed away.
According to multiple reports, Knight, who was the sixth-winningest Division I men’s college basketball coach in NCAA history, was 83 years old at the time of his passing. He had just celebrated his birthday on October 25.
The news was confirmed by a statement shared by Knight’s family.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family,” the Knight Family said in a statement. “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,” the statement continued.
Knight was just 24 years old when he began his collegiate coaching career at Army in 1965. Eleven years later, during his 29-year reign at Indiana, Knight lead the Hoosiers to an undefeated season and a championship title in 1976.
In total, Knight coached in the NCAA tournament a total of 24 times. He also coached the U.S. Olympic team during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. That year USA won gold.
Despite his success, Knight is also remembered for his public outburst and multiple physical altercations. He was eventually fired from Indiana when he grabbed a freshman student by the arm violating Indiana University’s “zero tolerance behavior policy.”
He would go on to coach six seasons at Texas Tech. During his seventh season, Knight retired mid-season.
But he was a legend of the sport long before that, becoming a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Despite the dark sports in his career, many of his players still talk about the great impact Knight had on their lives, and that includes the legendary Coach K. And while Knight had admitted in the past that he has regrets, as ESPN reports, he was always proud he did things his way.
“I’ve simply tried to do what I think is best,” Knight once said. “Regrets? Sure. Just like the song. I have regrets. I wish I could have done things better at times. I wish I would have had a better answer, a better way, at times. But just like he said, I did it my way and when I look back on it, I don’t think my way was all that bad.”
Rest in peace, Coach Knight.
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