Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight, the winningest coach in the history of Division I men's basketball, resigned, effective immediately. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal first reported that Knight was retiring after he met Monday with Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers. Knight's son, Pat, who is in his seventh season with the Texas Tech program, will take over as the head coach. The 67-year-old Knight has 902 career victories and 371 losses over 42 seasons as a college coach. The Red Raiders are 12-8 this season, the elder Knight's seventh at Texas Tech. This past September, he inked a three-year contract extension that carries through the 2011-12 season. "Bob Knight has done an outstanding job as Texas Tech's basketball coach," Myers said in a statement. "He has brought more recognition to Texas Tech, Lubbock and West Texas than anyone who has ever been at Texas Tech. His teams have won more games and been to more postseason tournaments (NCAA and NIT) in the seven years he has been our coach than any team in a similar period of time." Pat Knight, who was named head coach designate prior to the 2005-06 season, will get his first crack at the helm for Texas Tech Wednesday at Baylor. "I am pleased and excited we have Pat Knight, who is ready to be the head coach of Texas Tech basketball," Myers said. "He will work to give students, fans and alumni a competitive and excited basketball team." According to the Avalanche-Journal, Bob Knight said he has contemplated retirement and thought about doing it after this season. However, after speaking with friend and legendary basketball coach Pete Newell on Sunday, Knight believed now was the best time to have his son take over the program. "My thinking was that for Pat and for this team - most of which is returning next year - the best thing for the long run for this team would be for Pat and his staff to coach these remaining 10 games," Knight told the Avalanche- Journal. Enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991, Bob Knight won three NCAA titles in his 29 seasons (1971-2000) at Indiana and also spent six years (1965-71) at Army. He finished his career with 28 trips to the NCAA Tournament, three NCAA championships and an NIT title, all told a 71-33 postseason mark. "He has won over 900 games during his storied career, the most in the history of NCAA Division I men's basketball," Myers said. "His legacy to basketball is more than the number of wins he has achieved. Bob has given back to the game of basketball as much or more than anyone who has ever coached the game. No one has participated in more basketball clinics and camps and invited coaches to practices than Bob Knight. He has always made time to help coaches with information and insight into the technical aspects of his coaching philosophy. On January 16 this year, Knight picked up his landmark 900th victory, a 68-53 triumph for the Red Raiders over then 10th-ranked Texas A&M. Knight became just the third coach to reach the 900-win plateau, along with Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt and former Texas women's coach Jody Conradt. The elder Knight went out on top, winning his final game, a 67-60 home win over Oklahoma State on Saturday. Nicknamed "The General" for his time with Army along with his fiery way of coaching, his intense knack for discipline and his blow-ups in the past, Knight became an icon in college basketball during his years at Indiana. During his sometimes rocky tenure, the Hoosiers won 662 games, including 22 seasons of 20 or more wins, while losing only 239, a .735 winning percentage. Of his 29 Indiana teams, 23 were ranked in the top 10 of the national polls at some point during the season, seven either were ranked No. 1 during the season or won the NCAA championship, and all 29 at some point made the top 25. "Many great coaches have influenced the game of basketball," Myers continued in his statement. "Bob Knight's philosophy and system of offense and defense have been copied and emulated by hundreds and hundreds of coaches at all levels throughout the world." Knight was fired from his Indiana post in 2000 after allegedly grabbing a student who greeted him in what Knight considered a disrespectful manner at Assembly Hall. Knight then filed a lawsuit, but dropped it against Indiana for violating his "zero tolerance" behavior policy. In March 2000, on the eve of the NCAA Tournament, CNN/SI aired an interview with former player Neil Reed, who claimed he was choked by Knight during a practice in 1997. Indiana president Myles Brand, currently the NCAA's executive director, announced he was adopting a "zero tolerance" approach to Knight's behavior. Knight was then hired at Texas Tech in 2001 and sued Indiana in 2002, alleging it violated his contract by failing to follow procedures for firing him. He said losing the job had cost him $2 million in income from media contracts, basketball camps and endorsements. A judge later ruled that Indiana did not violate Knight's contract. The judge then rejected a motion by Knight to reconsider the case to correct errors. During his time at Texas Tech, Knight guided the Red Raiders to a 138-82 record. That included four NCAA Tournaments. Knight became the all-time winningest coach in Division I men's basketball history when he surpassed good friend, Dean Smith's 879-career win mark for win 880 on January 1, 2007. Included in Knight's tenure at Indiana was 11 Big Ten Conference titles, five Final Fours, and a 32-0 undefeated season in 1976. When Knight was hired at Army at the age of 24, he became the youngest varsity coach in college history. He went 102-50 at Army before going to Indiana in 1971. In 1984, Knight became one of only three coaches to win the triple crown with an NCAA title, a NIT title, and an Olympic Gold Medal. During his playing career, Knight was a reserve on Ohio State's 1960 NCAA Division I national championship team, which featured future Hall of Fame players John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas.
