Bob Knight's Thoughts On N.C.A.A. Reforms

[50's PONY]

Times Record News

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Knight scoffs at proposed NCAA reforms
By SID HARTMAN
August 5, 2004


NCAA officials are talking about adopting a new system in which colleges will be penalized for athletes who don't graduate and be rewarded for those who do.


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Bobby Knight, the Texas Tech men's basketball coach who was in the Minneapolis area this week helping raise money for the Boys and Girls Clubs, calls this a smokescreen.

"I said 25 years ago that if presidents are really concerned about NCAA eligibility, that they would only give scholarships to replace kids who have graduated," Knight said.

"I think college presidents are just simply afraid at how teams would be decimated," he said. "They've done such a poor job with it. I've been a head coach in college basketball now for 39 years and at three different institutions. We've had three kids in that period of time who were seniors who had completed their eligibility who don't have a degree. And two of them have enough hours.

"If I can do it by demanding that kids go to class, any coach in America can do exactly the same thing. And we don't need a lot of smokescreen to cover what we ought to be doing as our primary responsibility, and that's seeing that kids get an education." On another subject, Knight said he doesn't recruit a kid who plans to play a limited time in college and then jump to the pros.

"What I want is a kid who wants to try to have a team that is as good as it can possibly be. Not a kid who thinks about this as a one-year or a two-year stopover to get to the NBA," he said.

Knight also is against an NCAA plan that would allow every athlete five years of eligibility rather than the current four in five years.

"I think it's a real mistake," he said. "I think five years of eligibility, among other things, we'll see a lot more kids transfer. They come in for a year, they know they can leave and still play three years under the existing five-year rule. Some of the rules that we have now would have to be changed to six years.

"Another problem would exist is that you are bringing a kid out of high school, 17 or 18 years old, and he is playing on a team where kids might be 23 or 24 years old. I think for college athletics, that's far too great a disparity in age to put a team together."

Regarding the Ohio State coaching vacancy, Knight is convinced Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger never considered him a candidate.

"I was called by several people with Ohio State ties or interests to see if I would be willing to talk to them about the job," Knight said. "I said I would talk to them, but I in no way would make a commitment. But as it turned out, they were not interested in talking to me, which is their prerogative. The situation that I have at Tech is extremely good. I really like it."

Ohio State had one basketball sellout last year - against Texas Tech. Knight not only has turned around the Red Raiders program in three years, but with his son Tim as marketing director, they have increased fundraising and overall basketball income (including television revenue) by $10 million.


E-mail Sid Hartman at shartman(at)startribune.com.



(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com.)

Copyright 2004, Times Record News. All Rights Reserved.

[RGV Pony]

As I've said often...we NEED to hire someone like Tim Knight. Better still, someone with experience fund-raising for politicians. $$$ can be raised, over and above what we're already seeing, which would give us soo much more stability.

Not to take away from the efforts of all the fine folks w/ the Mustang Club now, but I'd like to see at least a semblance of a mirror to the effort going on in Lubbock.

Raising $$ for our programs should be a snap compared to Lubbock. Next time you're in West Texas, take a ride around the northeast part of town where Tech is, then drive down the Tahoka Highway to see the only place a guy can buy beer. Then, fly back to Dallas & drive around the Park Cities. SMU has many more at its disposable who are in need of doing something with their pre-tax $$.

THAT's how we can pay for Moody.

[NavyCrimson]

"I said 25 years ago that if presidents are really concerned about NCAA eligibility, that they would only give scholarships to replace kids who have graduated," Knight said."


boy - that's brutal honesty! he's soooo right!!!

[OldPony]

When was the last time Knight had a Top 10 team at the end of the year?

[Waz]

I dare say that had he been our coach for the last several years we would be more pleased with the results than we are. Top 10 teams or not, the guy is one of the best promoters of what college basketball should be about. His personality may get in the way, but he has knowledge and passion about teaching the game, teaching life, and doing his best to get his players an education.

[OldPony]

Waz- I can't remember either.

As you say he does good things re educating and graduating his players. He was a really good coach when he could choke players and lived in a recruiting hotbed. Indiana has been just as good without him and he hasn't gotten TT as far as Dickey did yet.
He is a total [deleted] as a human being though and I would not support him nor anyone like him ever to be the coach at SMU. He can continue to give advice and occasionally gets one right. If he looks behind himself on this issue though, no one is following.

[SWC2010]

OldPony, I'm with you on the 'personal traits' of Knight. But I believe he is right on the money about the ncaa reforms. Of course, it's true that noone is behind him on these issues-- what coach would in this day & age would want a team that makes their grades before they make it to practice?