Indiana University Athletics Announces Plans for Statue Honoring Hall of Fame Coach Bob Knight IU Athletics is proud to announce plans for the commission and installation of a permanent bronze statue of the late IU Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Bob Knight. The statue will be displayed prominently alongside the 1976 National Championship statues in the south lobby of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, a facility that opened in Knight’s first year in Bloomington in 1971. Following his arrival, Knight transformed the IU Basketball program over the next 29 years into a perennial national powerhouse and established Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as one of the most revered venues in all of college sports.
Under Knight’s guidance from 1971–2000, IU secured three NCAA National Championships (1976, 1981, and 1987), an NIT title in 1979, and 11 Big Ten Conference regular-season titles. Most notably, he led the 1975–76 squad to a perfect 32-0 season—a feat that remains the sport’s gold standard as the last undefeated championship in men’s Division I basketball. Knight, who passed away in 2023, compiled a 662–239 record at Indiana, and his 902 career coaching victories rank sixth in college basketball history. Widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential figures in the history of the sport, Knight is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, the National College Basketball Hall of Fame, and the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.
“Coach Knight’s influence on the game of basketball is immeasurable, but his impact on this university and Hoosier basketball fans is even deeper,” said IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson. “On a personal level, having started my career here as a student manager under Coach Knight, I saw firsthand the unparalleled standard of excellence he demanded. He taught me, and countless others, that success is the result of meticulous preparation and unwavering discipline. This statue will be a well-deserved tribute to a man who didn’t just win games; he changed how the sport is played.” Brian Hanlon of Hanlon Studios will design and fabricate the statue and further details regarding the project timeline will be released in the coming months. The project is being fully funded by a long-time IU Men’s Basketball supporter who wishes to remain anonymous.
Lamar Wilkerson Picks Up Second Co-Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Indiana redshirt senior guard Lamar Wilkerson was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday afternoon. Wilkerson shared the distinction with Iowa senior guard Bennett Stirtz. The veteran guard averaged 29.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 per game as the Hoosiers split games at USC (75-81 on Jan. 3) and against Wisconsin (78-77 (OT) on Feb. 7). Wilkerson opened the week with 33 points at USC, the most by a Hoosier in a road game since Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 35 at Purdue on Feb. 25, 2023. He added four rebounds and three steals in the contest. The game marked his third 30-point effort of the season, the most in a single season since Trayce Jackson-Davis (4, 2022-23).
He followed that performance with 25 points, four rebounds, and four assists in the win over Wisconsin. Wilkerson made two free throws with 16 seconds left to send the game into OT and then scored all six Hoosier points in the extra period, including the game-winning free throws with under 2.0 seconds remaining. In the midst of a historic season, Wilkerson has averaged 23.2 points per game in Big Ten Conference play through 13 games, the most by a Hoosier player since George McGinnis (29.9 points per game) during the 1970-71 season. The honor is his second of the season (Dec. 15). Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries claimed Co-Player of the Week honors on Nov. 10.
Shay Ciezki Named the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week Indiana women’s basketball senior guard Shay Ciezki earned her third Big Ten Player of the Week honor on Monday as she helped Indiana to a pair of wins last week. Ciezki is the co-Player of the Week with UCLA’s Kiki Rice. In wins at Wisconsin and over Purdue last week, the Buffalo, N.Y. native averaged 30.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and shot 57.9 percent from the floor for the Hoosiers. She also went 46.2 percent from the 3-point line and 83.3 percent at the free throw line while playing 40 minutes in both contests.
In Madison, Ciezki dropped 31 points by going 12-fo-19 from the floor where she also had nine rebounds and a season-high five steals in a 77-74 win for IU. In Sunday’s second meeting against Purdue, Ciezki dazzled with her second double-double of the season with 29 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and a career-high eight assists. The Big Ten’s leading scorer had her seventh 30-point scoring game this season and increased her double-figure scoring streak to 34 games. Ciezki is also well on her way to becoming IU’s 34th member of the 1,000-point club as she sits with 991 career points scored in two seasons at Indiana. Action resumes on the west coast on Thursday when IU faces USC on Thursday, February 12 at 10 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
Curt Cignetti’s Championship Headset Sells for a record $112,500 at Auction After leading Indiana to a national title in January, Curt Cignetti decided to give fans a chance to own a piece of history. The Hoosiers leader put his game-used headset from the championship game up for auction, with the proceeds being used to help with NIL opportunities for his program’s athletes. It went for $112,500 at auction, besting the previous record-holder in Bill Belichick’s game-worn Super Bowl 36 headset, which went for $10,200. According to cllct, Cignetti’s national championship headset is now the most expensive game headset in history. As you can see, Cignetti is making history left and right. All told, the headset was among multiple game-used items from the national championship that became available at Bison Drop, along with a Gatorade bottle and towel. Team-issued towels from the Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl were also up for auction.
Regardless, Cignetti’s headset – which included authentication documents – was the item that drew the most buzz. That’s certainly reflected in the price it went for. Moreover, Bison Drop, a private company operated by Indiana-based Our Threads, LLC, acquires items from Indiana and auctions them, with drops every Monday. Athletes and coaches are compensated through NIL agreements, according to the company’s website. Bison Drop confirmed to On3 that Cignetti allowed the company to acquire the headset from IU and auction it. Indiana completed a historic turnaround in just two years under Cignetti’s leadership, going from the losingest program in college football history before his arrival to 16-0 and a national champion. The Hoosiers are the second college football team to ever go 16-0 in a season, joining Yale in 1894.
Throughout Indiana’s title run, Mark Cuban maintained a strong presence on the sidelines. The billionaire and Dallas Mavericks minority owner has also been a key part of his alma mater’s turnaround, donating as recently as this past transfer portal cycle. Cuban made clear the impact Curt Cignetti had on his decision to donate to the program, especially since the IU staff does not plan to get into “bidding wars.” In fact, immediately after sealing the national championship win over Miami, Cignetti made it clear IU is not among the top spenders in college football. He quickly dispelled that narrative as he met with reporters postgame. “I would like to say that our NIL is nowhere near where people think it is,” Cignetti said to start his opening press conference. “So you can throw that out.”
Indiana is preparing to lose some key pieces from the national title team, including quarterback Fernando Mendoza and wide receiver Omar Cooper. But the Hoosiers are doing work in the portal, landing the No. 1-ranked class, according to the On3 Team Transfer Portal Rankings. Former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover is the biggest addition as the No. 19 overall player in the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings.
Former Bloomington North Head Football Coach Brett Cooper Hired to Lead Ben Davis HS Ben Davis has its new football coach. Brett Cooper, former coach at Perry Meridian and, last season, at Bloomington North, was approved as Ben Davis’ next coach at Monday night’s school board meeting. Cooper led Bloomington North to a 7-4 season in 2025, taking the program over late in the summer after Anthony Lindsey stepped down. That came after a five-year tenure at Perry Meridian, where Cooper built the Falcons into a competitive program, posting a 5-6 record in 2024. He was 14-39 overall at Perry Meridian.
Prior to Perry Meridian, Cooper was 21-12 in three seasons at Indian Creek. The Massillon, Ohio, native had previous assistant coaching experience at Greenwood and Warren Central in high school and in college at the University of Indianapolis. Russ Mann resigned as Ben Davis’ coach after three seasons. Mann led the Giants to the Class 6A state championship in 2023, though the program suffered back-to-back losing seasons following the title for the first time since 1982-83. Mann said the administration told him they were going to go in a different direction after the season. Ben Davis has 10 state championships overall in football, including three in Class 6A (2014, ’17 and ’23) since the Indiana High School Athletic Association added a sixth class in 2013.
Indy Ignite fall in four sets to the San Diego Mojo In the Indy Ignite’s first late-night outing of the 2026 season, the game was decided by late-set heroics in San Diego Monday. The West Coast Host Mojo delivered in crunch time to break Indy’s three-match win streak, taking the game in four sets (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-15). The first three sets of the match ended with both teams stringing together several points in a row. The Ignite fired five straight points off at the end of the first set for the comeback. The story changed in sets two and three, though, as the Mojo used back-to-back scoring runs to take both sets. San Diego never trailed in the final set to seal the team’s third win of the season.
“We kind of knew watching them grow every game that it was going to be a pretty tough game today,” Indy head coach Lauren Bertolacci said. “They did really well. They honestly just outworked us a little bit. Defense, cover, kept the ball alive, and then they were able to take their chances in transition, so credit to them 100%. I think we’ve got a few things to improve on, but luckily, it’s a long season, so I’m sure we will.” Bertolacci’s thoughts were reflected in the match statistics. While the Ignite lead the MLV in kill percentage (40.2%) and efficiency (24.2%), the Mojo held them to just 34.8% and 18%.
“Sometimes we’re just so focused on what’s going on that maybe we lose sight of working together,” said Lydia Martyn, Ignite middle blocker. “Like the scramble plays of waiting to see who’s going to make that play or go after a ball or sticking to what our scout was. Maybe we were a little lax there, but ultimately, we’ve just got to make better plays. That comes with making the second touch better, can we be in our positions, can we press on our block when we need to? We’ve just got to do better at that.” Back in the starting lineup after sitting out a match, Martyn finished with a season-high 12 kills to go along with four blocks and a kill percentage of 50.0% and an efficiency of 41.7%. “I think we’re a team who manages those out-of-system balls a little better than what we did tonight, and I think we can serve a little better,” said Martyn, referring to Indy’s 12 service errors to just two aces. “I think tonight’s serving was just not us.” Indy returns home this week for a pair of weekend matches. First up, Orlando visits the Fishers Event Center at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13. Next, a rematch awaits with San Diego on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. Tickets for the match are available here.
Indy Ignite on WTHR+ Nine more Ignite matches are scheduled to stream live on WTHR+ this season. Here’s the remaining schedule: Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.: San Diego at Indy Thursday, Feb: 19 at 8 p.m.: Indy at Dallas Saturday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.: Indy at Atlanta Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.: Indy at Columbus Sunday, March 8 at 6 p.m.: Grand Rapids at Indy Saturday, April 4 at TBA: Indy at Omaha Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m.: Indy at Grand Rapids Friday, May 1 at 7 p.m.: Columbus at Indy Sunday, May 3 at 3 p.m.: San Diego at Indy
Indiana Pacers Guard Johnny Furphy Suffers a Torn ACL Indiana Pacers guard Johnny Furphy suffered a torn right ACL in the loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. An MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York confirmed the injury on Monday. The injury came after a dunk in the third quarter when Furphy hit the ground. He immediately grabbed near his right knee after he fell to the ground. Furphy averaged 5.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season, his second year in the NBA. He has started 21 games this season, including 18 starts in a row before the injury.