A resolution honoring the life and legacy of Coach Robert Montgomery "Bobby" Knight.

Whereas Robert Montgomery Knight (commonly known and referred to in this preamble as Bobby Knight) was born on October 25, 1940, in Massillon, Ohio, and was raised in Orrville, Ohio;

Whereas Bobby Knight graduated from Ohio State University and played basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team from 1959 through 1962;

Whereas Bobby Knight enlisted in the United States Army and served on active duty from June 1963 through June 1965, and he served in the Army Reserves from 1965 through 1969;

Whereas, in 1963, while enlisted in the Army, Bobby Knight became an assistant coach with the Army Black Knights;

Whereas, in 1965, at the age of 24, Bobby Knight became the Head Basketball Coach at the United States Military Academy West Point;

Whereas Bobby Knight had a legendary career as a college basketball head coach for more than 40 years, 29 of which were at Indiana University;

Whereas the coaching success of Bobby Knight led to his induction into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (referred to in this preamble as the NCAA) Hall of Fame, the Indiana University Hoosier Basketball Hall of Fame, and the West Point Hall of Fame;

Whereas, in his basketball career, Bobby Knight—

Whereas, during his 29 years at Indiana University, Bobby Knight—

Whereas the 1975–76 men’s basketball team at Indiana University, which was coached by Bobby Knight, remains the last team to complete the entire regular season and the NCAA tournament without a single loss;

Whereas Bobby Knight coached the United States men's national basketball team to a gold medal in the 1979 Pan American Games and to a gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Games;

Whereas approximately 80 percent of all players coached by Bobby Knight graduated, and an astounding 98 percent of all players that Bobby Knight coached for 4 years or more graduated, exceeding by more than 2 times the average graduation rates for Division I schools;

Whereas, during the 40 years Bobby Knight served as a head coach, none of the teams he coached were ever cited for a recruiting or academic violation while competing at the highest levels of the sport;

Whereas Bobby Knight attained 902 wins during his overall head coaching career at the United States Military Academy, Indiana University, and Texas Tech University, by perfecting—

Whereas Bobby Knight had a reputation as a passionate player and coach, a man who never accepted defeat, who pushed himself and his teams to achieve, and created a persona in line with the great Vince Lombardi and Woody Hayes;

Whereas Bobby Knight never focused his coaching on winning a game, but on the path to becoming a champion, saying “The will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to prepare”;

Whereas Bobby Knight earned the NCAA Naismith Award for Outstanding Contributor to Men's Basketball in 2007;

Whereas, upon his retirement from Texas Tech University in 2008, Bobby Knight was distinguished as the winningest men’s basketball coach in the NCAA and the coach with the most wins in NCAA Division I history at the time; and

Whereas Bobby Knight passed away in Bloomington, Indiana, on November 1, 2023: Now, therefore, be it