Why Legendary Coach Bob Knight Wanted To Be Buried 'Upside Down'

Bob Knight, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who was among the winningest and most controversial figures in the sport, has died. He was 83.

Knight's family made the announcement Wednesday night. The coach had been hospitalized with an illness in April and was in declining health for several years.

"It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family," the statement read. "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."

Nicknamed "the General" and famous for both his temper and basketball prowess, Knight won 902 games in 42 seasons at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech. But he attained iconic status during his 29 years leading the Hoosiers, when he won a school-record 661 games and three national championships. The first of those titles came in 1976, when Indiana went undefeated, a feat no college men's basketball team has accomplished since.

Knight's message to his critics

The Hall of Famer, who notoriously cared little about criticism, celebrated with Frank Sinatra's "My Way" after winning his 880th game in 2007, at the time the record for a Division I men's basketball coach.

But Knight had been less subtle with his messaging before, including one speech ahead of Indiana's 1994 Senior Day game.

"When my time on Earth is gone and my activities here are passed," Knight said over the public address system at Indiana's Assembly Hall, a speech that has widely resurfaced since his death. "I want [them] to bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass."

Who was Bob Knight?

Robert Montgomery Knight, born on October 25, 1940, in Orrville, Ohio, also coached the 1984 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Los Angeles, marking the last American amateur men's basketball team to claim the top of the podium.

The coach, who was a player at Ohio State when it won the 1960 national championship, took pride in his players' graduation rates and was vehemently opposed to violating NCAA rules. Knight made sure his base salary would not exceed that of other professors while at Indiana and sometimes gave back his salary at Texas Tech when he didn't think he'd earned it.

Knight retired in 2008 after coaching everyone from Michael Jordan to Isiah Thomas. His coaching tree included Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski and current Indiana men's basketball coach Mike Woodson.

"We lost one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball today. Clearly, he was one of a kind," Krzyzewski said in a statement. "Coach Knight recruited me, mentored me, and had a profound impact on my career and in life. This is a tremendous loss for our sport and our family is deeply saddened by his passing."

Woodson said in a statement: "It is a profoundly sad day for all of us who loved Coach Knight.... I am so blessed that he saw something in me as a basketball player. He influenced my life in ways I could never repay. As he did with all of his players, he always challenged me to get the most out of myself as a player and more importantly, as a person."

Magic Johnson, Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas were among others who paid tribute to Knight on X (formerly Twitter).

Knight's off-court antics are part of his legacy as well.

"The General" famously tossed a red plastic chair across the court during a 1985 game against Purdue. He later apologized, though his temper would continue to get the best of him.

Knight, who won 11 Big Ten titles at Indiana and rose to become one of the most powerful figures in the state, was forced out by the school in 2000 for violating a "zero tolerance" behavior policy. He had grabbed the arm of a student who greeted him with "Hey, what's up Knight?" The coach, who considered the act disrespectful and seized the student's arm to lecture him, was fired a few days later.

This came after a long list of previous transgressions. The most notable, which was the subject of an ESPN documentary, involved Knight allegedly placing his hands around the neck of player Neil Reed during a 1997 practice.

For years, Knight maintained his distance from the school where he became a coaching legend, often skipping team reunions and refusing to make peace. But he finally returned to Assembly Hall in February 2020 for an Indiana-Purdue matchup, where he was met with cheers by the sold-out crowd. He embraced several former players in attendance.

In the hours after his death, Indiana fans left flowers outside Assembly Hall in remembrance of Knight. Someone even left a chair.

Knight is survived by his wife, Karen, and sons Tim and Pat.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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