Bob Knight hadn’t returned to Assembly Hall since his controversial firing in 2000.

After he was fired, Knight vowed to never return to Assembly Hall again. On Saturday February 8th, during halftime of the IU-Purdue men’s basketball game, Knight broke that promise.

Plans were in place to honor the 1980 Big Ten Championship team, for which Knight was the head coach. Even when rumors started to circulate that Knight would appear alongside his former players, fans were skeptical.

“I was not convinced it was going to happen until the morning of, and even then I wasn’t totally sure,” IU Professor Galen Clavio said.

Knight was met with a standing ovation from a packed stadium. Many of the students in attendance of the game were never even alive to see Knight coach for Indiana. However, they understood his legacy, passed down through generations.

“Wow, that’s the guy that my dad’s been talking about.”

“I got to experience a little of what my parents got to.”

“I know it’s a historic moment.”

In Bob Knight’s 29-year career at IU, he led the Hoosiers to 3 NCAA Championships and eleven Big Ten Championships. His 902 career game wins was the record at the time of his retirement, and is still the third most career wins in history. Indiana University soon became known for its basketball program under Bob Knight’s leadership.

“He was the representation of a time when IU basketball was the premiere basketball program in the country. The way we think of Duke or North Carolina now, that was Indiana.”

Despite his warm reception at Saturday’s game, Knight’s legacy was complicated, tainted by years of allegations of abuse. He was known to have an explosive personality, and was even accused of grabbing a player by the neck.

Bob Knight retired from coaching in 2008, and now resides in Bloomington just miles away from Assembly Hall.