The Indiana Legislature has unanimously approved a plan to rename a stretch of Ind. 45 near Indiana University’s Assembly Hall after the late men’s basketball coach Bob Knight.
The resolution, sponsored by state Rep. Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville, would rename the Ind. 45 portion between Fee Lane to the east and College Avenue to the west. It would include the stretch that runs north of the IU athletic fields.
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“Coach Knight’s impact on Indiana goes far beyond the basketball court,” said in a news release. “Renaming this roadway near Assembly Hall in his honor is a lasting tribute to his legacy, his commitment to excellence and the pride he brought to Hoosiers across the state.”
Knight coached the Hoosiers from 1971 to 2000. Renowned for his basketball brilliance and a belligerent bearing that inspired devotion and disdain in equal measure, Knight led Indiana to three national championships, among other accolades.
The intensity with which he pushed his teams to the peak also paved the way for his downfall.
Knight was fired by IU’s then-President Myles Brand before the 2000-01 season for a confrontation with a student after Knight had been placed on a “zero tolerance” policy stemming from allegations and video evidence that he grabbed and choked a former player during a practice.
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Knight followed his 29 seasons on the Assembly Hall bench with seven years coaching Texas Tech, leading the Red Raiders to four NCAA Tournaments and the Sweet Sixteen in 2005.
He finished his career with 902 victories, ranking sixth all time at the time of his retirement, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.
While he had kept a low profile in the years before his death in 2023, his move back to Bloomington in 2019 with his wife, Karen Veith Edgar, preceded a reconciliation. After two decades of estrangement, an emotional Knight returned to Assembly Hall for a game against Purdue in February 2020 to a rousing ovation from the capacity crowd.
After Knight’s death, at age 83, tributes poured in, and people have made attempts to commemorate his legacy. For example, members of the IU community in 2024 rallied to rename the portion of 17th Street in front of Assembly Hall “Bob Knight Way.”
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As Mayfield’s resolution has passed both chambers in the Indiana legislature, the Indiana Department of Transportation “can move forward with the project,” Mayfield’s office said in the news release. Resolutions do not require the governor’s approval.
State Rep. Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville presents House Concurrent Resolution 4 in the House Chamber on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis.
Mayfield represents House District 60, which includes portions of Johnson, Morgan and Monroe counties.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bob Knight honored with road renamed for him near Assembly Hall
