[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E47]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            COACH BOB KNIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 9, 2007

  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, in West Texas, football has been king since 
the beginning of time. Other sports were ``foreign'' to the flat, dry 
plains. Then somebody from a college in Indiana showed up, with a round 
ball and changed the Texas sports landscape. Bob ``The General'' Knight 
became the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders men's basketball 
team--yes, basketball. On January 1, 2007, the threshold into a new 
year, Knight crossed another important threshold--becoming the 
winningest coach ever in NCAA Division I basketball with a total of 880 
victories. This record came in a win, by Texas Tech, over the 
University of New Mexico Lobos, with a score of 70-68. The previous 
record holder was Dean Smith, head coach of the University of North 
Carolina. Coach Knight has made basketball at Texas Tech into a cause 
and crusade.
  A review of Knight's collegiate coaching career is in order. We start 
where Knight, himself, started--the West Point Military Academy. It was 
there that Knight earned his first head coaching job at the 
extraordinarily young age of 24. It was at West Point that Knight 
earned the nickname ``The General.'' His tenure at West Point produced 
a basketball record of 102 wins and 50 losses.
  After West Point, Knight went on to the basketball state of Indiana, 
and the University of Indiana Hoosiers, in 1971. Leading the Hoosiers 
is where the achievements began to pile up in the trophy room. Knight's 
accomplishments boast three National Championships (1976, 1981, and 
1987), a never replicated, undefeated season (1976), eleven Big Ten 
Conference titles (1973-1976, 1980-1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993), 
National Coach of the Year (1975, 1976, 1987, 1989), and Big Ten Coach 
of the Year (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981). As a Hoosier, Knight 
averaged a 73% success rate with 662 wins and 239 losses.
  Outside of the NCAA national championships, Knight has led teams to 
three other championships. In 1979, the Hoosiers won the NIT 
Championship. Also, in 1979, Knight coached the Pan American team to a 
gold medal. In 1984, Knight had the privilege of leading the U.S. men's 
basketball team to a Gold Medal at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 
On May 13, 1991, Knight was memorialized when he was inducted, for his 
coaching, in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
  In 2001, Knight accepted the head coach position at Texas Tech and 
quickly turned the program around into a winning organization. Coach 
takes ordinary players and teaches them to perform above their ability. 
We can expect to see the Red Raider's basketball team to continue to 
excel in the future.
  Finally, it is worth noting that Knight's accomplishments extend 
beyond the court, beyond the victories--He is first and foremost a 
teacher. High graduation rates mark his teams, and many excellent 
players, most notably Isaiah Thomas, have gone on to professional and 
Hall of Fame glory. Also, 16 former assistant coaches of Knight have 
gone on to become head coaches at the collegiate level.
  So, Madam Speaker, as the New Year rings in, I commend Bob Knight for 
excellence in leadership of America's youth. The West Texas sports 
landscape has, yes, changed forever.
  That's just the way it is.

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