IU Athletics to commission bronze statue honoring Bob Knight at Assembly Hall

Staff report

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — February 9, 2026

Indiana University athletics announced Monday plans to commission and install a permanent bronze statue honoring the late Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Bob Knight.

The statue will be displayed in the south lobby of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, alongside the 1976 national championship statues, IU said in a news release. Assembly Hall opened in 1971, Knight’s first year in Bloomington.

Knight coached the Hoosiers from 1971 to 2000, leading IU to three NCAA championships in 1976, 1981 and 1987. He also guided Indiana to the 1979 NIT title and 11 Big Ten regular-season championships. His 1975–76 team went 32-0 and remains the last undefeated national champion in men’s Division I basketball.

“Coach Knight’s influence on the game of basketball is immeasurable, but his impact on this university and Hoosier basketball fans is even deeper,” IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson said in the release. Dolson, who began his career at IU as a student manager under Knight, said the statue will recognize Knight’s impact on the program and university.

Knight, who died in 2023, posted a 662–239 record at Indiana and won 902 games in his coaching career, which IU said ranks sixth in college basketball history. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Brian Hanlon of Hanlon Studios will design and fabricate the statue. IU said additional details on the project timeline will be released in the coming months.

The project will be fully funded by a longtime IU men’s basketball supporter who asked to remain anonymous, IU said.

The post IU Athletics to commission bronze statue honoring Bob Knight at Assembly Hall first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.