Good Knight

So, I got an email recently regarding the "revelation" that Bobby Knight would be interested in returning to college basketball if it was the right opportunity -- the revelation was tied to the comment that he would be interested in the University of Georgia job if they called. I mention the email because it got me to thinking about the purpose of big time Division I college sports (primarily football and basketball) and the role of the people paid to coach athletes at this level. Note that I did not say "student-athlete."

The email contained the following rant:

Bobby Knight should have no place in the NCAA and he should have been banned years ago after his second outburst. The first time he flipped out and berated a kid or threw chair it would have been okay to put him on a plan of improvement, or make him work with a counselor or anger management coach. The second time it happened, he should have been tossed out of his job and out of the NCAA. You don't get to pull that shit in corporate America, and you certainly shouldn't be allowed to pull it in EDUCATION. I know you're going to say "he's a coach, not an educator." Yes he is a coach, but his job includes teaching game strategy as well as sportsmanship and appropriate conduct and how to represent the school. Come on. He was a terrible example. He might have been good at the game strategy part and winning games and making money for the the schools, but he failed miserably has a mentor/example... and being a coach involves both. The NCAA should have washed its hands of him years ago.

Angry? Sure. Well thought out? Yeah. Correct? Hell and no.

By now, you all know me...I adore innocence and naivety. It's cute and it's a sign that we haven't completely lost our way in this mean and cruel society. However, that rant is ridiculous! Here's why...

First, Division I sports are not about educating kids. They are about winning games, generating money, and showcasing kids for professional sports. School schedules are manipulated for kids so that they can spend a majority of their time on their major -- sports; coaches make significantly more money than anyone else on campus and, at public schools, are almost always the highest paid state employee. Oh, and not by a little.

Second, Coaches are fired for having winning records and good kids. Coaches are fired for having great records overall, but losing records against rivals. Coaches are fired because they are poor recruiters of talent. And, coaches are fired when schools are not maximizing profit through the program.

Show me a school that rewards graduating players and producing good men, and I will show you a losing program. Case and point -- Northwestern is a fantastic school with a great academic reputation and a history of producing quality student-athletes. They have also NEVER been in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. I wouldn't want to be associated with that.

Finally, Bobby Knight is a genius. Bobby Knight understood the two most important things about Division I basketball. How to coach it and how to win at it. He also has done it without having to cheat! No recruiting violations. No paying players. Nothing!

Let's look at the facts...

• 902 wins (most by any Division I men's basketball coach)


• 3 NCAA Championships (including the last undefeated team -- 1976 Indiana Hoosiers)


• Only coach to win championships in the NCAA, the NIT, Olympics and Pan American Games


• He has won the Naismith College Coach of the Year, the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award, the Henry Iba Award twice, the Big Ten Coach of the Year six times, and was the Naismith Award winner for Men's Outstanding Contribution to Basketball.

What has Indiana Basketball given us since Bobby Knight left? After a highly successful 29 year career with the General, Indiana has had 4 coaches in 8 years and is currently serving a 3-year probation for recruiting violations.

Do you think that the alumni and students of Indiana would prefer wins now? Or a good example? With the amount of money tied to college sports these days and the profile it gives a university, count me among those that would choose the wins.

I have been around a lot of college coaches and they ain't saints. Their jobs depend on them winning games. Period. Schools that value anything else ALWAYS suffer .