On March 13 at approximately 2:08 p.m. EDT, buzzers sounded inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
He didn’t know it yet, but those buzzers signaled the end of Mike Woodson’s tenure as head basketball coach at Indiana University. To be more specific, the buzzer finalized Indiana’s exit in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament with a 72-59 loss to Oregon. This ended up being the last game Woodson coached for the Hoosiers because, just three days later, Indiana was left out of the NCAA Tournament.
This ended what was a four-year tenure by Woodson, as he finished with an 82-53 overall record and 41-39 in Big Ten play. It was a complicated tenure—an up-and-down one at that—with struggles consistently plaguing the program when Woodson was in charge, but his legacy is much more than his four seasons as head coach.
acknowledging and thanking Coach Mike Woodson, such an important part of Indiana University. He first pulled up in Bloomington back in 1977, a tall, skinny kid that came to play basketball and lit the court on fire, and almost 50 years later is still such an important part of the Hoosier family.”
She followed that up by mentioning that “the porch light will always be on for Mike and his wonderful wife, Terri, as they will always be an important part of the Hoosier family.”
While these kinds of remarks are an extremely uncommon occurrence when a program is attempting to begin a new era, it came as no surprise here. Woodson will continue to be a prolific figure in Indiana basketball history, and let me tell you why.
Woodson’s relationship with Indiana basketball begins, as most basketball careers do, as a player. After being a star guard at the now-defunct Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, Woodson decided to take his talents to Bloomington to play for the reigning undefeated, national champion Hoosiers led by Bob Knight.
In his four seasons donning the cream and crimson, Woodson’s role with the Hoosiers increased each year, as he ended up captain of both the 1978-79 and 1979-80 teams in his junior and senior years, respectively. In 1978-79, he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and followed that up with the Big Ten Most Valuable Player award in 1979-80. Woodson was named an All-American by the NABC in both seasons, recognized not only for his poise on the floor but also for his leadership off of it.
In 1980, Woodson missed several games after undergoing back surgery due to a herniated disc but came back ahead of schedule to turn a 7-5 Big Ten record into a 13-5 mark by season’s end, winning IU the Big Ten title after defeating Ohio State on the final day of the regular season.
This win over OSU resulted in déjà vu for Woodson, as his last home game as head coach was also against the Buckeyes. While it wasn’t for a Big Ten championship, the Hoosiers were victorious in the 2025 edition of the game, and Woodson was quick to reflect on the similarities.
conference.
While the former player couldn’t deliver his alma mater a Big Ten title as a coach, he did as a player, while racking up accolades that demonstrated just how valuable he was to the Hoosiers when he was on the roster. His four years with Indiana between 1976 and 1980 speak for themselves, as his legacy in the cream and crimson can never be taken away from him or the university.
BRINGING BACK BOB KNIGHT TO ASSEMBLY HALL
In what may be the greatest achievement of his career—one that doesn’t even involve playing or coaching the game of basketball—Woodson was integral in getting Coach Knight back inside the building he coached in from 1971 to 2000.
This occurred on Feb. 8, 2020, during a matchup vs. Purdue and was part of the 40-year reunion of the 1980 Big Ten championship team mentioned earlier. Of course, Woodson captained that team, meaning he played a pivotal role in convincing Knight to make his first appearance at Assembly Hall since his firing in 2000.
Before his appearance in 2020, Knight was on the record saying, “I have no interest in ever going back to that university,” yet Woodson, Quinn Buckner, Isiah Thomas and other key players were able to make it happen.
“That was like a reunion, bringing him back, and we needed to bring him back,” Woodson said. “He needed to be back here, man.”
A year and a half later, during Woodson’s head coaching introductory press conference, he said, “I pay tribute to Coach Knight in the utmost way because Indiana basketball will always be Bob Knight. Will always be. It was great he came back in February a year ago and all the ex-players that surrounded him, the fans—it was a beautiful, beautiful thing.”
When Woodson became Indiana head coach, Knight praised his former player, saying, “I’ve never known a better person than Mike. He is just a great man.
