III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 475 

Honoring the life and legacy of Coach Robert Montgomery ‘‘Bobby’’ Knight. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 27, 2023 

Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

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; 


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•SRES 475 ATS 

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— 

(1) earned an NCAA National Championship as a 

player at Ohio State University in 1960; 

(2) won 3 NCAA National Championships as the 

Head Coach of the men’s basketball team at Indiana 

University in 1976, 1981, and 1987; and 

(3) won a National Invitational Tournament championship as the Head Coach of the men’s basketball team 

at Indiana University in 1979; 

Whereas, during his 29 years at Indiana University, Bobby 

Knight— 

(1) coached 11 Big Ten Conference Championship 

teams; 

(2) took 24 teams to the NCAA tournament; and 

(3) earned 8 Big Ten Coach of the Year awards and 

4 national coach of the year awards; 

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; 


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•SRES 475 ATS 

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— 

(1) the motion offense, which emphasizes discipline, 

teamwork, selflessness, and perimeter passing to control 

the game and increase the percentage of successful shots; 

and 

(2) smothering man-to-man defense; 

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’’; 


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•SRES 475 ATS 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the life and legacy of Robert Mont3 gomery ‘‘Bobby’’ Knight (referred to in this resolu4 tion as ‘‘Coach Knight’’), including the dedication of 

5 Coach Knight— 

6 (A) to the game of basketball, including 

7 the promotion of the game across the United 

8 States; and 

9 (B) in particular, to the game of basket10 ball, the players, and the fans in the Hoosier 

11 State; 

12 (2) recognizes that the success of Coach Knight 

13 was, in turn, the success of the entire Indiana Uni14 versity system and a source of continuing pride for 

15 the entire State of Indiana and the other colleges 

16 and universities that are associated with Coach 

17 Knight; 


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•SRES 475 ATS 

1 (3) remembers the drive, determination, and 

2 character of Coach Knight and all that Coach 

3 Knight did to educate and mentor hundreds of play4 ers over his 45-year head coaching career; 

5 (4) acknowledges that few can ever achieve 

6 greatness, but Coach Knight propelled young men to 

7 touch greatness for at least a moment, giving them 

8 experiences and lessons that have shaped their entire 

9 lives; and 

10 (5) extends a heartfelt thank you to Coach 

11 Knight for his memorable service and continues to 

12 remember his legacy. 

Æ 


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