A resolution unanimously passed by the state legislature would rename a portion of State Road 45 in Bloomington for former Indiana University men’s basketball coach Bob Knight.
House Concurrent Resolution 4 urges the Indiana Department of Transportation to rename the stretch of State Road 45 between College Avenue and Fee Lane, which passes Assembly Hall, to “Bob Knight Memorial Way.”
The resolution was authored by Rep. Peggy Mayfield of Martinsville and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Eric Koch of Bedford.
“Coach Knight declined many opportunities to have buildings and statues and other public areas named in his honor. He was really, personally, a very humble man,” Koch said. “Nearly a generation has passed since coach Knight was in Bloomington. We thought it was appropriate to honor his memory.”
Koch said Knight’s family gave the General Assembly permission to name the stretch of road after the former coach.
He said Knight, who won three national championships at IU and had an undefeated season in 1975-76, deserves the honor for more than his achievements on the court.
“What a lot of people don't know are his contributions, raising money for libraries, helping people in desperate situations on a totally non-public basis, and what he did for his players, both as athletes, as students and as men,” Koch said.
Despite his accomplishments on and off the court, Knight was a controversial figure throughout his career due to his temper and player treatment. Still, lawmakers decided Knight deserved the honor.
“Everyone in public life has critics,” Koch said, “but I think there's no better evidence of the deserving nature of this than every single member of the Senate, Republican and Democrat, put their name on this resolution.”
Koch said, after final legislative steps, the resolution will be passed to INDOT.
INDOT Southeast Public Relations Director Sidney Nierman said the department has minimal involvement.
“When it comes to road renaming, it typically happens as a representative or someone else brings it forward, and then that message is passed along to us,” Nierman said. “We are responsible for ordering and installing the signage that actually goes up and physically changes the name of the roadway.”
Nierman said the department does not yet have a cost estimate or timeline. However, the signs will be installed on the same day as the road’s renaming ceremony, which has not yet been scheduled.