In sports or activities in the United States, a letterman is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team .
125-603: Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach . Often referred to as Bobby Knight and nicknamed " the General ", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement and sixth all-time record at the time of his death. Knight was the head coach of the Army Black Knights (1965–1971), the Indiana Hoosiers (1971-2000), and
250-410: A jump ball and ultimately received a technical foul . Purdue's Steve Reid stepped to the free throw line to shoot the resulting free throws, but before he could, Knight grabbed a red plastic chair from Indiana's bench and threw it across the floor toward the basket in front of Reid. Knight was charged with a second and third technical foul and was ejected from the game. He apologized for his actions
375-422: A banded collar for men or a top-buttoned hood (that unbuttons into an expanded collar) for women. The letter jacket derives its name from the varsity letter chenille patch on its left breast, which is almost always the first letter or initials of the high school or college the jacket came from. The letter itself can also be custom fitted to the particular sport or activity (e.g. cross country—a symbol or sign in
500-575: A basketball team against an outside opponent was Vanderbilt University , which played against the local YMCA in Nashville, Tennessee , on February 7, 1893, where Vanderbilt won 9–6. The second recorded instance of an organized college basketball game was Geneva College 's game against New Brighton YMCA on April 8, 1893, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania , which Geneva won 3–0. The first recorded game between two college teams occurred on November 22, 1894, when
625-490: A certain number of touchdowns , catches, scores, steals, baskets or tackles, according to position and sport. In individual sports letters are often determined according to qualification for state meets or tournaments. Other schools award letters on a more subjective basis, with the head coach, usually with the input of other coaches and sometimes student team leaders who have already lettered, awarding letters for substantial improvement as well as significant performance on or off
750-541: A crowd of some 6,000 supporters in Dunn Meadow at Indiana University. He asked that they not hold a grudge against Harvey and that they continue to support the basketball team. Knight's firing made national headlines, including the cover of Sports Illustrated and around-the-clock coverage on ESPN , as well as mentions on CNN and CBS . Two days after Knight was fired from Indiana University, Jeremy Schaap of ESPN interviewed him and discussed his time at Indiana. Towards
875-584: A double win by the 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team (when the NIT comprised 12 and the NCAA 8 teams), the NCAA ruled that no team could compete in both tournaments, and effectively indicated that a team eligible for the NCAA tournament should play in it. Not long afterward, assisted by the 1951 scandals based in New York City , the NCAA tournament had become more prestigious than before, with conference champions and
1000-445: A dozen or so college graduates were among the 60 players selected in the annual NBA draft . Fewer high schoolers were progressing directly to the NBA without at least one year of college basketball beginning in 2006; citing maturity concerns after several incidents involving young players, the labor agreement between players and owners now specifies that players must turn 19 years of age during
1125-474: A living in the NBA or else his family would face destitution. The ensuing legal battle went to the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled in 1971 that the NBA does not have the same antitrust exemption enjoyed by Major League Baseball . Thereafter, collegiate players demonstrating economic hardship were allowed early entry into the NBA draft . The hardship requirement was eliminated in 1976. In 1974, Moses Malone joined
1250-470: A long way to go to be as good as your dad." In a March 2017 interview on The Dan Patrick Show , Knight stated that he had no interest in ever returning to Indiana. When host Dan Patrick commented that most of the administration that had fired Knight seventeen years earlier were no longer there, Knight said, "I hope they're all dead." Knight ultimately returned to Assembly Hall at halftime of Indiana's game against Purdue on February 8, 2020, and received
1375-589: A mandatory sport for full conference members. Since its introduction in 1973, Division III has always had the lowest share of Black coaches. As of 2015, less than 10% of the coaches in Division III were black (compared to around 20% in Division II and 25% in Division I). The most recent changes to the roster of D-III conferences came in 2023. The New England Collegiate Conference , which had been decimated earlier in
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#17328721618361500-711: A mass exodus to the Lone Star Conference (LSC) effective in 2019. The remaining member would soon announce that it would become a de facto member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), and one of the original eight schools to announce a move to the LSC later changed course and chose to become a de facto MIAA member as well. The two schools that moved to the MIAA are technically associate members because they do not sponsor football,
1625-442: A men's college basketball studio analyst at ESPN. Knight sparked controversy with his outspoken nature and his volatility. He once threw a chair across the court during a game and was once arrested following a physical confrontation with a police officer. He was accused of choking an Indiana player during practice in an incident that was recorded on video, prompting the university instituted a "zero tolerance" policy for him. Following
1750-545: A news release that upset the coach. In 1976, Knight grabbed IU basketball player Jim Wisman and jerked him into his seat. The 1979–80 Hoosiers , led by Mike Woodson and Isiah Thomas , won the Big Ten championship and advanced to the 1980 Sweet Sixteen . The following season, in 1980–81 , Thomas and the Hoosiers once again won a conference title and won the 1981 NCAA tournament , Knight's second national title. In 1982–83 , with
1875-424: A part of college basketball since 2006, the first NBA draft it affected. The rule was created by NBA Commissioner, David Stern, which changed the draft age from 18 years old to 19 years old. This change meant players could not be drafted into the NBA straight out of high school. Instead, however, they usually went to a college to play only one season before entering the following NBA draft when they were eligible, hence
2000-421: A rousing standing ovation. It was the first Indiana game attended by Knight since his dismissal by the school 20 years prior. Following his dismissal from Indiana, Knight took a season off while on the lookout for coaching vacancies. He accepted the head coaching position at Texas Tech University , although his hiring was opposed by a faculty group led by Walter Schaller, associate professor of philosophy. When he
2125-448: A subsequent run-in with a student, he was fired by Indiana University in the fall of 2000. Knight was one of college basketball's most successful and innovative coaches, having popularized the motion offense . He received national coach of the year honors four times and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors eight times. He was also successful on the international stage, winning gold medals at both
2250-626: A time when there weren't any black varsity basketball players in either the Southeastern Conference or the Southwest Conference . Finally ACC schools—typically under pressure from boosters and civil rights groups—integrated their teams. With an alumni base that dominated local and state politics, society and business, the ACC flagship schools were successful in their endeavor—as Pamela Grundy argues, they had learned how to win: In 1969, for
2375-966: A two-game "championship series" was organized between the University of Chicago and Penn, with games played in Philadelphia and Bartlett, Illinois . Chicago swept both games to win the series. In March 1922, the 1922 National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament was held in Indianapolis – the first stand-alone post-season tournament exclusively for college teams. The champions of six major conferences participated: Pacific Coast Conference , Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association , Western Pennsylvania League, Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference , Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association . The Western Conference and Eastern Intercollegiate League declined invitations to participate. Wabash College won
2500-869: Is Chicago State , which left the Western Athletic Conference, in which it was a geographic outlier, after the 2021–22 season. The 2022–23 season also featured a second independent in Hartford , which left the America East Conference as part of its transition to Division III , and joined its long-term D-III home of the Commonwealth Coast Conference in July 2023. As of the 2023–24 college basketball season, there are 23 Division II basketball conferences: There are currently five independent Division II schools without conference affiliations for
2625-474: Is called the second round, the second round is called the third round, and the Sweet Sixteen is the same, but it is technically the fourth round in the current format, etc. In 2016, the field did not expand, but the round numbers changed again. The first four games containing the last 8 teams is now referred to as the first four. Consequently, the first round does not start until the first four games are out of
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#17328721618362750-412: Is complete, the conference stages a tournament that includes some or all of its teams. The regular-season conference standings are generally used to determine qualification for and seeding in the conference tournament. The Western Athletic Conference is an exception. It uses the regular-season conference standings to determine qualification for its tournament, but seeding is based on a formulaic ranking of
2875-495: Is presently the only independent basketball team in Division I of the NCAA . Finding opponents can be problematic for an independent team, particularly during the latter part of the season, when most other teams are regularly playing conference opponents. In addition, each conference gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Independent teams do not have access to such a pathway and must be selected at-large in order to participate in
3000-514: Is quoted as saying, "I want you to know that you're going to be one of the bright young coaches in the country, and it's just a matter of time before you win a national championship." Knight was one of seven candidates vying to fill the Wisconsin men's basketball head coaching vacancy after John Erickson resigned to become the Milwaukee Bucks ' first-ever general manager on April 3, 1968. Knight
3125-446: Is the last men's team in Division I college basketball to go undefeated during an entire season (32–0). They remain, as of the end of the 2023–24 season, the last team to be undefeated national champions. In the seven full seasons that he coached at Texas Tech, his teams qualified for a post-season tournament five times. He retired partway through the 2007–2008 season and was replaced by his son Pat Knight at Texas Tech. He later worked as
3250-488: Is usually of boiled wool and the sleeves of leather with banded wrists and waistband. Letter jackets are usually produced in the school colors, with the body of the jacket in the school's primary color and sleeves in the secondary color, although sometimes, the colors of the jacket may be customized to a certain extent by the student. There could be cases where a student could change the color so much that it doesn't differentiate too much from school colors. They usually feature
3375-540: The 1979 Pan American Games and the 1984 Summer Olympics with the U.S. men's national team . He is one of only three basketball coaches to win an NCAA title, an NIT title, and an Olympic gold medal. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Knight was born on October 25, 1940, in the town of Massillon, Ohio , and grew up in Orrville, Ohio . His father Pat worked for
3500-699: The 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico . The team, which included players such as Isiah Thomas and Ralph Sampson , trained together for more than 50 days and played in a tournament in Italy before arriving in Puerto Rico. During the games, Knight led the United States to a 9–0 record, with an average victory of 21.2 points, and gold medal. However, his behaviour during the games, where he feuded with referees, officials and made critical comments about Puerto Rico,
3625-459: The Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now known as Drexel University ) faced Temple College (now known as Temple University ). Drexel won the game, which was played under rules allowing nine players per side, among many other variations from modern basketball, 26–1. The first intercollegiate match using the modern rule of five players per side is often credited as a game between
3750-613: The Harvard University baseball team in 1865. The letter was usually quite large and centered (if the sweater was a pullover); stripes on one sleeve designated the number of letters won, with a star indicating a team captain. Letter jackets are almost never purchased before a student has earned a letter. In schools where only varsity letters are awarded this is usually the practice in a student's junior or senior year. Recently, many student-athletes have been awarded letters during their sophomore and sometimes freshman year, leading to
3875-574: The International Olympic Committee . The NCAA failed to permit such participation by American college basketball players despite the fact that it had permitted such participation in the past and continued to permit participation by American college athletes in other Maccabiah Games sports, such as swimming, track, fencing, and soccer. Basketball was different, however. In that the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) – with which
Bob Knight - Misplaced Pages Continue
4000-448: The NBA and WNBA rules apply in NCAA play, there are differences that make NCAA play unique. Letterman (sports) The term comes from the practice of awarding each such participant a cloth " letter ", which is usually the school's initial or initials, for placement on a "letter sweater" or "letter jacket" intended for the display of such an award. In some instances, the sweater or jacket itself may also be awarded, especially for
4125-726: The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). Each of these various organizations is subdivided into one to three divisions, based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to
4250-537: The Texas Tech Red Raiders (2001–2008). While at Army, he led the Black Knights to four post-season tournament appearances in six seasons, winning two-thirds of his games along the way. After taking the job at Indiana, his teams won three NCAA championships , one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships. His 1975–76 team won the 1976 NCAA tournament , and
4375-473: The U.S. Army and served on active duty from June 1963 to June 1965 and in the U.S. Army Reserves from June 1965 to May 1969. He conducted initial training at Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri and was transferred to West Point, New York , in September 1963. He became a private first class. While in the army, he accepted an assistant coaching position with the Army Black Knights in 1963, where, two years later, he
4500-587: The University of Chicago and the University of Iowa , in Iowa City, Iowa , on January 18, 1896. The Chicago team won the game 15-12 , under the coaching of Amos Alonzo Stagg , who had learned the game from James Naismith at Springfield YMCA. However, some sources state the first "true" five-on-five intercollegiate match was a game in 1897 between Yale and Penn , because although the Iowa team that played Chicago in 1896
4625-856: The Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (which became part of the NBA after the ABA–NBA merger in 1976) straight out of high school and went on to a Hall of Fame career. The past 30 years had displayed a remarkable change in the college game. The best international players routinely skipped college entirely, many American stars passed up on college ( Kevin Garnett , Kobe Bryant , Tracy McGrady , Dwight Howard , Amar'e Stoudemire , and LeBron James ) or only played one year ( Carmelo Anthony , Chris Bosh , Kevin Durant , and John Wall ), and only
4750-556: The 1922 tournament. The first organization to tout a regularly occurring national collegiate championship was the NAIA in 1937, although it was quickly surpassed in prestige by the National Invitation Tournament , or NIT, which brought six teams to New York's Madison Square Garden in the spring of 1938. Temple defeated Colorado in the first NIT tournament championship game, 60–36. In 1939, another national tournament
4875-423: The 1990s and remain overwhelmingly male today. The conferences for 2023–24 are In the early decades of college basketball, and well into the 1970s, many schools played as independents , with no conference membership. However, the rise of televised college sports in the 1980s led to the formation of many new conferences and the expansion of previously existing conferences. Currently, the only Division I independent
5000-577: The 2019–20 season, and single men's and women's championships have been held since then. In past decades, the NBA held to tradition and drafted players who had graduated from college. This was a mutually beneficial relationship for the NBA and colleges—the colleges held onto players who would otherwise go professional, and the NBA did not have to fund a minor league. As the college game became commercialized, though, it became increasingly difficult for "student athletes" to be students. A growing number of poor, but highly talented, teenage basketball players found
5125-584: The 2022–23 season: Bluefield State , Salem , UPR-Rio Piedras , UPR-Mayaguez , and UPR-Bayamon ; the latter three also maintain dual membership in both the Liga Atlética Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico as well as NCAA Division II. The most recent change in the list of Division II conferences is the demise of the Heartland Conference , which disbanded at the end of the 2018–19 school year. In 2017, eight of its nine members announced
Bob Knight - Misplaced Pages Continue
5250-480: The AAU tournament championship: Utah (1916), NYU (1920), Butler (1924) and Washburn (1925). College teams were also runners-up in 1915, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1932 and 1934. The first known tournament featuring exclusively college teams was the 1904 Summer Olympics , where basketball was a demonstration sport , and a collegiate championship tournament was held. The Olympic title was won by Hiram College . In March 1908,
5375-481: The Amateur Athletic Union. It shows that the NCAA does not care if it hurts member institutions or individual athletes in the process. It shows once again that the NCAA is ... under the control of a stubborn, dictatorial hierarchy that does not hesitate to use athletes and schools alike as mere pawns in a game of power politics. The original rules for basketball were very different from today's modern rules of
5500-985: The Big Ten will admit four new members, all of which are located in the Pacific Time Zone. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) had a footprint that extended from Maryland to Florida, with all members located in states on the Atlantic Coast in the 1990s. It has since expanded to include members in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana. On July 1, 2024, the ACC will admit two new members located in California and one new member located in Texas. The shifts in conference membership are primarily driven by schools seeking lucrative media rights deals and appropriately competitive playing partners for their football programs. In most cases, schools house as many of their sports in
5625-526: The Capital Athletic Conference, with the merged entity soon renaming itself the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference . From 1992 to 2020, the NAIA operated separate Division I and Division II men's and women's basketball championships; the distinction between the two divisions was that D-I schools awarded basketball scholarships while D-II schools chose not to. Basketball divisions were abolished after
5750-578: The Hoosiers posted 87 victories, the most by any Big Ten team in a three-year span, breaking the mark of 86 set by Knight's Indiana teams of 1974–76. They captured two Big Ten crowns in 1990–91 and 1992–93, and during the 1991–92 season reached the Final Four . During the 1992–93 season, the 31–4 Hoosiers finished the season at the top of the AP Poll , but were defeated by Kansas in the Elite Eight . Players from
5875-567: The Hoosiers swept the entire Big Ten by an average of 22.8 points per game. However, in an 83–82 win against Purdue they lost consensus All-American forward Scott May to a broken left arm. With May's injury limiting him to seven minutes of play, the No. 1 Hoosiers lost to Kentucky 92–90 in the Mideast Regional . Despite the loss, the Hoosiers were so dominant that four starters— Scott May , Steve Green , Kent Benson , and Quinn Buckner —would make
6000-459: The Indiana basketball program, as well as insights into Knight's private life. The following season, in 1986–87 , the Hoosiers were led by All-American Steve Alford and captured a share of the Big Ten title. The team won Knight's third national championship (the school's fifth) against Syracuse in the 1987 NCAA tournament with a game-winning jump shot by Keith Smart with five seconds remaining in
6125-517: The NBA in some regions of the United States, such as in North Carolina and the Midwest (where traditionally strong programs at Louisville , Kansas ,and Indiana are found). The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee, consisting of coaches from all three divisions of the NCAA, sets the rules for college men's basketball play. A parallel committee sets rules for college women's play. Although many of
6250-438: The NCAA tournament increased again and again, as it comprised more and more teams, soon including all of the strongest ones. (Expansion also improved the distribution of playing locations, which number roughly one-third the number of teams in the field.) In 2011, the NCAA field expanded to 68 teams and the last 8 teams playing for four spots making the field into 64, which is called the first round and so on. The former first round
6375-608: The NCAA was locked in a bitter power struggle – was for the first time organizing the Team USA basketball team for the Maccabiah Games, a role that had formerly been held by the NCAA. NCAA executive director Walter Byers , whom the Harvard Crimson described as "power-mad" and others described as a "petty tyrant", headed the NCAA and was involved in the decision. The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), an affiliate of
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#17328721618366500-457: The NCAA, followed the NCAA's orders on sanctions. The New York Times reported that the failure of the NCAA to permit such participation in Maccabiah basketball was believed "to stem from the N.C.A.A.'s feud with the Amateur Athletic Union over control of [amateur] athletes." Author Leonard Shecter called the NCAA decision a "classic example of NCAA stupidity". In 1969—against the wishes of
6625-520: The NCAA— Yale University Jewish center Jack Langer played for Team United States at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel. He did so with the approval of Yale President Kingman Brewster , the university said it would not stop Langer from "what we feel is a matter of religious freedom," and all Ivy League presidents fully endorsed Yale's stand. Thereafter, Yale played Langer in basketball games
6750-568: The Red Raiders won 126 games. During Knight's coaching at Texas Tech, Knight was also involved in several controversies. In March 2006, a student's heckling at Baylor University resulted in Knight having to be restrained by a police officer. The incident was not severe enough to warrant any action from the Big 12 Conference . On November 13, 2006, Knight was shown allegedly hitting player Michael Prince under
6875-467: The Sweet Sixteen. Throughout the 1990s Knight was yet again involved in several controversies: On March 14, 2000, (just before Indiana was to begin play in the NCAA tournament), the CNN Sports Illustrated network ran a piece on Robert Abbott's investigation of Knight in which former player Neil Reed claimed he had been choked by Knight during a practice in 1997. Knight denied the claims in
7000-413: The absurdity of the NCAA rule, protested at the 1970 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships by standing on the awards stand wearing blue Yale jerseys. In February 1970, Representative Robert N. Giaimo (D-Connecticut) said in the U.S. Congress : The Yale case, involving basketball player Jack Langer, is tragic. It shows that the NCAA is willing to use any weapon in its continuing power struggle with
7125-452: The arm and lectured him for not showing him respect, insisting that Harvey address him as either "Mr. Knight" or "Coach Knight" instead of simply "Knight." Brand stated that this incident was only one of numerous complaints that occurred after the zero-tolerance policy had been put into place. Brand asked Knight to resign on September 10, and when Knight refused, Brand relieved him of his coaching duties effective immediately. Knight's dismissal
7250-521: The athletes. Teams with more talent tend to win over teams with less talent. Each organization has different conferences to divide the teams into groups. Traditionally, the location of a school has been a significant factor in determining conference affiliation. The bulk of the games on a team's schedule during the season are against fellow conference members. Therefore, geographic proximity of conference members allows local rivalries to develop and minimizes travel costs. Further, televised road games played in
7375-455: The back of the head. Kentucky assistant coach Lynn Nance, a former FBI agent , had to be restrained by Hall from hitting Knight. Hall later said, "It publicly humiliated me." Knight blamed the furor on Hall, stating, "If it was meant to be malicious, I'd have blasted the fucker into the seats." Years after the incident, it was reported that Knight choked and punched Indiana University's longtime sports information director, Kit Klingelhoffer, over
7500-431: The ball in the left front court and faked a drive into the middle. Then [he] crossed over like he worked on it all his life and drove right in and laid it up. That tied the game for us, and Knight ran clear across the floor like a 100-yard dash sprinter and ran right at me and said, "See there, coach, I should have been in that game a long time ago!" To which Truitt replied, "Sit down, you hot dog. You're lucky you're even on
7625-464: The big stage. In 2021, the tournament was able to take place, and the teams were so ready to be back. Baylor was the Men's 2021 NCAA Champions. In 2022, Kansas won the tournament, defeating North Carolina in the championship. For the women's competition, the 2021 champions were Stanford , who defeated Arizona in a very close game. In 2022, the women's NCAA champions was South Carolina, defeating UConn in
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#17328721618367750-455: The calendar year of the draft to be eligible. Additionally, U.S. players must be at least one year removed from their high school graduation. The pervasiveness of college basketball throughout the nation, the large population of graduates from "major conference" universities, and the NCAA's marketing of "March Madness" (officially the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship ), have kept
7875-500: The championship game. In the 1988–89 season , the Hoosiers were led by All-American Jay Edwards and won a Big Ten championship. Knight was involved in several controversies in the 1980s as well. In a game between Indiana and Purdue in Bloomington on January 31, 1981, Isiah Thomas allegedly hit Purdue guard Roosevelt Barnes in what some critics described as a "sucker punch". Video replay later shown by Knight showed Barnes had thrown
8000-432: The championship. LSU's women and UConn's men were the 2023 national champions, defeating Iowa and San Diego State, respectively, in the championship games. Racial integration of all-white collegiate sports teams was high on the regional agenda in the 1950s and 1960s. These issues included inequality, racism, and the alumni demand for the top players needed to win high-profile games. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) took
8125-430: The chin to get him to make eye contact. Although Knight did not comment on the incident afterwards, Prince, his parents, and Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers insisted that Knight did nothing wrong and that he merely lifted Prince's chin and told him, "Hold your head up and don't worry about mistakes. Just play the game." Prince commented, "He was trying to teach me and I had my head down so he raised my chin up. He
8250-497: The college game alive and well. Some commentators have argued that the higher turnover of players has increased the importance of good coaches. Many teams have been highly successful, for instance, by emphasizing personality in their recruiting efforts, with the goal of creating a cohesive group that, while lacking stars, plays together for all four years and thus develops a higher level of sophistication than less stable teams could achieve. College basketball remains more popular than
8375-541: The concept of letterman beyond sports, providing letters for performance in performing arts , academics , or other school activities. A letter jacket is a baseball-styled jacket traditionally worn by high school and college students in the United States to represent school and team pride as well as to display personal awards earned in athletics, academics or activities. Letter jackets are also known as "letterman jackets", "varsity jackets" and "baseball jackets" in reference to their American origins. The body (i.e., torso)
8500-586: The decade by the closure of several of its member schools and conference realignment in Division III, disbanded as an all-sports conference. (It remains in operation for men's volleyball and the non-NCAA esports.) The Colonial States Athletic Conference and United East Conference merged after the 2022–23 season under the United East banner. The last previous change came in 2020, when the American Collegiate Athletic Association merged into
8625-568: The disruption caused to the studies of the student-athletes. Since the 1990s, geographic proximity has gradually become a less important factor in determining membership in NCAA Division I conferences. For instance, the Big Ten Conference was originally composed of institutions in the Midwest. It has since expanded to include members in New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania. On July 1, 2024,
8750-527: The end of the interview, Knight talked about his son, Pat, who had also been dismissed by the university, wanting an opportunity to be a head coach. Schaap, thinking that Knight was finished, attempted to move on to another subject, but Knight insisted on continuing about his son. Schaap repeatedly tried to ask another question when Knight shifted the conversation to Schaap's style of interviewing, notably chastising him about interruptions. Knight then commented (referring to Schaap's father, Dick Schaap ), "You've got
8875-487: The face, broke a clipboard over the top of his head, and squeezed his testicles and the testicles of other Hoosiers, among other abuses. In an April 1988 interview with Connie Chung , when discussing an Indiana basketball game in which he felt the referees were making poor calls against the Hoosiers, Knight said, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." In response, women's groups nationwide were outraged by Knight's comments. From 1990–91 through 1992–93 ,
9000-414: The field victories. This term is not gender-specific; a qualifying participant in women's basketball or other women's sports is properly referred to as a letterman, as would be a qualifying female participant on a co-educational sports team. An athlete who is awarded a letter (or letters in multiple sports) is said to have "lettered" when they receive their letter. In recent years, some schools have expanded
9125-436: The field. This places much more emphasis on character, commitment and teamwork as well as, and often in place of, simply playing enough or meeting some other time or performance requirement. Sometimes in high schools academic performance in classes can also be an element. This philosophy gives more focus to developing and rewarding a well-rounded and balanced player, where other methods focus strictly on athletic performance and on
9250-439: The first punch, and that Thomas was merely reacting to this. When the two schools played their second game of the season at Purdue on February 7, 1981, Knight claimed a number of derisive chants were directed at him, his wife, and Indiana University. In response, Knight invited Purdue athletic director George King on his weekly television show to discuss the matter, but King declined. Therefore, in place of King, Knight brought onto
9375-575: The first time, the NCAA Council did not permit participation by American college basketball players in the Maccabiah Games . The Maccabiah Games are an international multi-sport event held in Israel, open to all Jewish athletes from around the world, and to all Israeli citizens regardless of their religion. In 1961 the Games were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of,
9500-421: The five-man All-Big Ten team. The following season, in 1975–76 , the Hoosiers went the entire season and 1976 NCAA tournament without a single loss, defeating Michigan 86–68 in the title game. Immediately after the game, Knight lamented that "it should have been two." The 1976 Hoosiers remain the last undefeated NCAA Division I men's basketball team. Through these two seasons, Knight's teams were undefeated in
9625-514: The floor." In addition to lettering in basketball at Ohio State, it has been claimed that Knight also lettered in football and baseball; however, the official list of Ohio State football letter earners does not include Knight. Knight graduated with a degree in history and government in 1962. After graduating from Ohio State University in 1962, he coached junior varsity basketball at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Ohio for one year. Knight then enlisted in
9750-740: The following season. A special assistant to the President of Yale, Henry Chauncey Jr., said: "There is no question that Jack Langer will continue to play basketball. We don't care what they do - Jack Langer will play when the coach wants to use him." On January 15, 1970, the NCAA Council placed Yale University on two‐year "full athletic probation " in all sports. It thereby restricted Yale teams and athletes (not just basketball players) for two years from competing in NCAA tournaments, championships and other postseason competitions, and from receiving any monies for televised events. The decision impacted 300 Yale students, every Yale student on its sports teams, over
9875-625: The incident. Rieckehoff "urged the Commonwealth not to consider any further legal action against Knight". College basketball Women's College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges . In the United States , colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athletic bodies, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA),
10000-493: The initial award to a given individual. Today, in order to distinguish "lettermen" from other team participants, schools often establish a minimum level of participation in a team's events or a minimum level of performance in order for a letter to be awarded. A common threshold in American football and basketball is participation in a set level, often half, of all quarters in a season. In individual sports such as tennis and golf ,
10125-499: The lead. "College basketball data allow for direct comparisons of the racial differences in the marginal revenues generated by players" (Brown and Jewell 1995). First they started to schedule integrated teams from the North. The wake-up call came in 1966 when Don Haskins 's Texas Western College team with five black starters defeated the all-white University of Kentucky team to win the NCAA national basketball championship. This happened at
10250-531: The majority of top-ranked teams competing there. The NCAA tournament eventually overtook the NIT by 1960. Through the 1960s and 1970s, with UCLA leading the way as winner of ten NCAA Tournament championships, a shift in power to teams from the west amplified the shift of attention away from the New York City-based NIT. When the NCAA tournament expanded its field of teams from 25 to 32 in 1975, to 48 in 1980, to 64 in 1985, and to 68 teams in 2011, interest in
10375-408: The middle of the letter). The name of the owner usually appears either in chenille (matching the letter) or embroidered on the jacket itself. The owner's graduation year typically appears in matching chenille. Placement of the name and year of graduation depends on school traditions. The year is most often sewn on the right sleeve or just above the right pocket. The school logo and symbols representing
10500-495: The name one-and-done. The first player to be drafted during this "one-and-done era" was Tyrus Thomas , a forward out of Louisiana State , who was drafted fourth overall in 2006. In 2023–24, a total of 362 schools (including those transitioning from a lower NCAA division to Division I) will play men's basketball in 32 Division I basketball conferences. All of these schools also sponsor women's basketball except The Citadel and VMI , two military colleges that were all-male until
10625-423: The need for a jacket much sooner. Still, the actual jacket is not usually purchased until the sophomore year. In schools where junior varsity letters are awarded, the jacket may be purchased by junior varsity letter recipients, though the letter is placed just above the left pocket, leaving space for a future varsity letter. Some schools may award letter jackets to letter winners at an award ceremony, but more often,
10750-461: The next day and was given a one-game suspension and two years' probation from the Big Ten . In later years, Knight would occasionally joke about the chair-throwing incident by saying that he saw an old lady standing on the opposite sideline and threw her the chair so she could sit down. Former Indiana basketball player Todd Jadlow has written a book alleging that from 1985 to 1989, Knight punched him in
10875-517: The next two years. The Presidents of the other seven Ivy League schools issued a statement condemning the NCAA's actions in regard to the "Langer Case". The Harvard Crimson called the probation "not only unjust, but intolerable", and urged the Ivy League to withdraw from the NCAA. Harvard track and field captain Ed Nosal and two other Harvard athletes, sympathetic to Langer and Yale and disdainful of
11000-406: The past. The smallest Division I conferences sometimes recruit Division II teams and help those institutions transition to Division I, in order to replace teams they have lost. Sometimes, this is done pre-emptively to make the conference larger and protect it against the possible loss of some of its teams. Teams are not required to join conferences and may play as independents instead. Chicago State
11125-453: The policeman's version of the incident, with Krzyzewski stating "It's really unbelievable, the out-and-out lies that are being told. It's like my standing here and saying that my name is not Mike Krzyzewski, that it's Fred Taylor." Knight was later charged with assault and summoned to appear before a judge but left the island before trial was held and refused to return with Indiana officials further rejecting Puerto Rican's extradition requests. He
11250-497: The practice facility during basketball practice, Knight yelled at him to leave, using more than one expletive. Blubaugh pinned Knight to a wall, and told him never to repeat the performance, and Knight never did. On December 7, 1974, Indiana defeated Kentucky 98–74. Near the end of the game, Knight went to the Kentucky bench where the official was standing to complain about a call. Before he left, Knight hit Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall in
11375-464: The railroad and his mother Hazel was a school teacher. He began playing organized basketball at Orrville High School . Knight continued at Ohio State in 1958 when he played for Basketball Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor . Despite being a star player in high school, he played a reserve role as a forward on the 1960 Ohio State Buckeyes team that won the NCAA championship and featured future Hall of Fame players John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas . Knight
11500-441: The regular season, including a perfect 37–0 record in Big Ten games on their way to their third and fourth conference titles in a row. Behind the play of Mike Woodson , Indiana won the 1979 NIT championship. Throughout the 1970s, however, Knight was beginning to be involved in several controversies. 1960 Olympic gold medalist Douglas Blubaugh was head wrestling coach at IU from 1973 to 1984. Early in his tenure while he jogged in
11625-417: The same primary conference as possible. So, the football-driven changes in affiliation lead to changes in the composition of basketball conferences. When a conference loses a member to another conference, it will often try to recruit a replacement from a third conference. This triggers a domino effect, and smaller, less stable conferences struggle to remain large enough to compete at the same level as they had in
11750-679: The same time zone as that of the visiting team's fans tend to draw larger audiences, which enhances the value of the media rights. Institutional compatibility is another factor that may lead schools to band together in the same conference. For instance, as of 2024 , all full members of the West Coast Conference are Christian colleges and universities located in the Pacific Time Zone. The Ivy League comprises institutions with similar, high academic standards that prefer to schedule nearly all their conference basketball games on Fridays and Saturdays, except during breaks between semesters, to minimize
11875-562: The semifinals in 1973 and 1992. In 1972–73 , Knight's second year as coach, Indiana won the Big Ten championship and reached the Final Four, losing to UCLA , which was on its way to its seventh consecutive national title. The following season, in 1973–74 , Indiana once again captured a Big Ten title. In the two following seasons, 1974–75 and 1975–76 , the Hoosiers were undefeated in the regular season and won 37 consecutive Big Ten games, including two more Big Ten championships. In 1974–75 ,
12000-452: The seniors on the teams, considering their last season just got abruptly taken from them. The NCAA did consider granting waivers to the student athletes who participated in winter sports (including basketball) so that they could regain eligibility for the 2021 season. However, many of the seniors were projected to be picked in the NBA draft, so this led to the difficult decision of playing one more year with their college teammates or moving on to
12125-421: The show a "jackass" (male donkey) wearing a Purdue hat as a representative of Purdue. On February 23, 1985, during a Purdue–Indiana game in Bloomington, five minutes into the game a scramble for a loose ball resulted in a foul call on Indiana's Marty Simmons. Immediately after the resumption of play, a foul was called on Indiana's Daryl Thomas. Knight, irate, insisted the first of the two calls should have been for
12250-424: The sport, including the use of eight players per side. James Naismith established 13 original rules: The following is a list of some of the major NCAA Basketball rule changes with the year they went into effect. Men only: Women only: The shot clock will change to only 20 seconds on any offensive rebound. Players are assessed a Class B technical foul for a flop (men only). The one-and-done rule has been
12375-512: The story. However, less than a month later, the network aired a tape of an Indiana practice from 1997 that appeared to show Knight placing his hand on the neck of Reed. In response, Indiana University president Myles Brand announced that he had adopted a "zero tolerance" policy with regard to Knight's behavior. Later in the year, in September 2000, Indiana freshman Kent Harvey (not a basketball player) reportedly said, "Hey, Knight, what's up?" to Knight. According to Harvey, Knight then grabbed him by
12500-406: The strength of the qualifiers, including their performances against non-conference opponents. In most cases, the winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, teams that are in transition from Division II are not eligible for the NCAA tournament. Therefore, if such a team wins a conference tournament, the conference will use an alternate method to select
12625-501: The strong play of Uwe Blab and All-Americans Ted Kitchel and Randy Wittman , the No. 1 ranked Hoosiers were favorites to win another national championship. However, with an injury to Kitchel mid-season, the Hoosiers lost to Kentucky in the 1983 Sweet Sixteen . In the 1985–86 season, the Hoosiers were profiled in a bestselling book A Season on the Brink . To write it, Knight granted author John Feinstein almost unprecedented access to
12750-426: The student's activities may also be ironed onto the jacket. Lettermen who play on a championship team often receive a large patch commemorating their championship that is worn on the back of the jacket. Lettermen who participate in a sport in which medals are awarded often sew the medals onto their jackets to display their accomplishments. Varsity jackets trace their origins to letter sweaters , first introduced by
12875-621: The system exploitative—they brought in funds to schools where they played without income. The American Basketball Association began to employ players who had not yet graduated from college. After a season of junior college , a season at the University of Detroit , and an Olympic gold medal , Spencer Haywood played the 1969–70 season with the ABA's Denver Rockets . He signed with the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics in 1970, before his college class graduation, defying NBA rules. Haywood pleaded that, as his family's sole wage earner, he should be allowed to earn
13000-460: The team improved in 2007, finishing 21–13 and again making it to the NCAA tournament, where it lost to Boston College in the first round. The best performance by the Red Raiders under Knight came in 2005 when they advanced as far as the Sweet Sixteen . In both 2006 and 2007 under Knight, Texas Tech defeated two Top 10-ranked teams in consecutive weeks. During Knight's first six years at Texas Tech,
13125-488: The team in this era included Greg Graham , Pat Knight , All-Americans Damon Bailey and Alan Henderson , Brian Evans, and National Player of the Year Calbert Cheaney . Throughout the mid and late 1990s Knight continued to experience success with continual NCAA tournament appearances and a minimum of 19 wins each season. However, 1993 would be Knight's last conference championship and 1994 would be his last trip to
13250-465: The team to receive its automatic bid. Some conferences allow transitioning teams to participate in their conference tournaments; others do not allow this. The history of basketball can be traced back to a YMCA International Training School, known today as Springfield College , located in Springfield, Massachusetts . The sport was created by a physical education teacher named James Naismith , who in
13375-410: The threshold for lettering is generally participation in one half or sometimes two-thirds of all matches contested. Frequently, other members of the team who fail to meet requirements for a letter are awarded a certificate of participation or other award considered to be of lesser value than a letter. Some schools continue to base the awarding of letters according to performance, in team sports requiring
13500-477: The tournament. Chicago State will join the Northeast Conference on July 1, 2024, leaving no independent teams in NCAA Division I. Most games between conference opponents take place in the latter part of the season. While there are various rankings of teams throughout the entire NCAA, there are also conference standings based on the results of games against conference opponents. Once the conference schedule
13625-482: The two men was recorded via camera phone and aired later on television. Knight won his 900th game in his coaching career on January 16, 2008, in a 68–58 win against Texas A&M , but not before arguing with referees during the match. On February 4, 2008, Knight announced his retirement. His son Pat Knight , the head coach designate since 2005, was immediately named as his successor at Texas Tech. The younger Knight had said that after many years of coaching, his father
13750-542: The virus spreading to players and watchers, with prior attempts to limit the spread without canceling by first choosing to limit attendees, and then canceling the tournament in its entirety. The cancellation of the tournament, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, led to a lot of uncertainty for the coaches, players, and NCAA as a whole. Many people were very disappointed and had wished it was just delayed, rather than completely being cancelled. Unfortunately, this pandemic really effected
13875-457: The way and the field is narrowed to 64 teams. So after the first four games the first round starts instead of that being the second round. The Second is now when there are 32 teams left, the sweet sixteen is the third round, and so on. In 2020, for the first time in the NCAA's history, the tournament had to be canceled due to fears of the COVID-19 pandemic . This move was done largely out of fear of
14000-477: The winter of 1891 was given the task of creating a game that would keep track athletes in shape and that would prevent them from getting hurt. The date of the first formal basketball game played at the Springfield YMCA Training School under Naismith's rules is generally given as December 21, 1891. Basketball began to be played at some college campuses by 1893. The first known college to field
14125-529: Was also a member of the 1961 and 1962 Buckeyes teams that lost in the finals to the Cincinnati Bearcats . Due in part to the star power of those Ohio State teams, Knight usually received scant playing time, but that did not prevent him from making an impact. In the 1961 NCAA championship game , Knight came off the bench with 1:41 on the clock and Cincinnati leading Ohio State, 61–59. In the words of then–Ohio State assistant coach Frank Truitt : Knight got
14250-493: Was another of Knight's players at Army, and Knight was quoted as saying that Silliman was the best player that he had coached. During his tenure at Army, Knight gained a reputation for having an explosive temper. After Army's 66–60 loss to BYU and Hall of Fame coach Stan Watts in the semifinals of the 1966 NIT , Knight completely lost control, kicking lockers and verbally blasting the officials. Embarrassed, he later went to Watts' hotel room and apologized. Watts forgave him, and
14375-405: Was composed of University of Iowa students, it reportedly did not officially represent the university, rather it was organized through a YMCA. By 1900, the game of basketball had spread to colleges across the country. The Amateur Athletic Union 's annual U.S. national championship tournament (first played in 1898) often featured collegiate teams playing against non-college teams. Four colleges won
14500-460: Was exhausted and ready to retire. Just after achieving his 900th win, Knight handed the job over to Pat in the mid-season in part to allow him to get acquainted with coaching the team earlier, instead of having him wait until October, the start of the next season. Knight continued to live in Lubbock after he retired. In 1978, Knight was named the head coach of the United States men's national team for
14625-587: Was heavily criticized, including by the president of the Basketball Federation of Puerto Rico, Arturo C. Gallardo, in a lengthy article in the New York Times . During the first game, with the United States leading by 35 points, he was ejected for arguing with referees and in another incident during a practice session, Knight was accused of assaulting the policeman guarding the gymnasium and was arrested. Both Knight and assistant coach Mike Krzyzewski refuted
14750-524: Was implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The location of the NCAA tournament varied from year to year, and it soon used multiple locations each year, so more fans could see games without traveling to New York. Although the NIT was created earlier and was more prestigious than the NCAA for many years, it ultimately lost popularity and status to the NCAA Tournament. In 1950, following
14875-461: Was introduced at the press conference, Knight quipped, "This is without question the most comfortable red sweater I've had on in six years." Knight quickly improved the program, which had not been to an NCAA tournament since 1996. He led the Red Raiders to postseason appearances in each of his first four years at the school (three NCAA Championship tournaments and one NIT). After a rough 2006 season,
15000-487: Was later tried in absentia, found guilty and sentenced to a six-month prison term and a 500 dollar fine. Following a United States Supreme Court ruling in 1987 that overturned a law which gave state governors the power to reject extradition requests and opened up the possibility of his extradition to Puerto Rico, Knight wrote a letter to the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee , Germán Rieckehoff , apologizing for
15125-416: Was met with outrage from students. That night, thousands of Indiana students marched from Indiana University's Assembly Hall to Brand's home, burning Brand in effigy . Harvey was supported by some and vilified by many who claim he had intentionally set up Knight. Kent Harvey's stepfather, Mark Shaw, was a former Bloomington -area radio talk show host and Knight critic. On September 13, Knight said goodbye to
15250-401: Was named head coach at the relatively young age of 24. In six seasons as a head coach at West Point, Knight won 102 games, with his first coming against Worcester Polytechnic Institute . He led Army to four NITs , advancing to the semifinals three times. One of his players was Mike Krzyzewski , who later served as his assistant before becoming a Hall of Fame head coach at Duke . Mike Silliman
15375-522: Was offered the position but requested more time to think it over. By the time he had returned to West Point, news that he was to become the Badgers' new coach was prematurely leaked to the local media. After consulting with Bo Schembechler , who had also had a negative experience as a Wisconsin football coaching candidate the previous year, Knight withdrew his candidacy and continued to coach at Army for three more seasons. Erickson's assistant coach John Powless
15500-456: Was promoted instead. In 1971, Indiana University Bloomington hired Knight as head coach. During his 29 years at the school, the Hoosiers won 662 games, including 22 seasons of 20 or more wins, while losing 239, a .735 winning percentage. In 24 NCAA tournament appearances at Indiana, Hoosier teams under Knight won 42 of 63 games (.667), winning titles in 1976 , 1981 , and 1987 , while losing in
15625-430: Was telling me to go out there and don't be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself." ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla defended Knight by saying "That's coaching!" On October 21, 2007, James Simpson of Lubbock, Texas , accused Knight of firing a shotgun in his direction after he yelled at Knight and another man for hunting too close to his home. Knight denied the allegations; however, an argument between
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