IU coach Mike Woodson to step away at conclusion of 2024-25 season – Inside the Hall
Mike Woodson will step away from his position as IU basketball’s head coach after the 2024-25 season.Woodson, 66, is in his fourth season as the coach of the Hoosiers. He’s compiled a 77-49 record, including a pair of NCAA tournament appearances in 2022 and 2023.This season, Indiana is 14-9 overall and 5-7 in Big Ten play ahead of Saturday’s home game against Michigan at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.The Hoosiers were ranked in the preseason Associated Press top 25 poll and picked to finish second in the Big Ten in the preseason by a panel of media members.Woodson, a former star player at Indiana under legendary coach Bob Knight, scored 2,061 points for the Hoosiers from 1976 through 1980.The Indianapolis native played in 104 games at IU, making 75 starts. He averaged 19.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 35.1 minutes per game.Following his playing career for the Hoosiers, Woodson played 11 seasons in the NBA before a long NBA coaching career, including head coaching jobs for the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.In March of 2021, Woodson was hired as the IU coach, replacing Archie Miller. The hire was viewed by many as a homecoming and was celebrated by several of Knight’s former players. However, lopsided losses and inconsistencies have plagued Woodson’s tenure in Bloomington.After ending a five-year NCAA tournament drought in 2021, the Hoosiers enjoyed their best season under Woodson in the 2022-23 campaign. IU finished second in the Big Ten and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. But the Hoosiers were blown out in March Madness for the second consecutive season, falling 85-69 to Miami (FL) in the second round in Albany, New York.Last season, Indiana missed the postseason, finishing 19-14. This season, Indiana is on track to miss the NCAA tournament again. The status of Woodson’s tenure beyond this season has been a cloud hanging over the program for most of the season.There’s now clarity about Woodson’s status beyond this season and Indiana will have a new leader on the sidelines next winter in Bloomington.Here’s the full statement from Scott Dolson: “During a meeting with Coach Woodson on Wednesday, he informed me he wanted to step down as our program’s head coach at the end of the current season. He said it had been weighing on his mind for a while, and that it was an emotional and difficult decision. We have had subsequent thoughtful conversations about his decision and his desire to ensure that the program is in the best position it can be moving forward. At an appropriate time, Coach Woodson will articulate his feelings about his decision and his experiences these last four years.“It’s clear to me from our discussions in the last several days that his No. 1 priority is for the attention to be off him, and instead focused on uniting Hoosier Nation in support of our student-athletes, coaches, and, most importantly, the program. We still have much to play for this season as we prepare for Saturday’s game against Michigan and the remainder of the 2024-25 season, and we want to encourage Hoosier fans to rally around the program and support it in the same positive way that Hoosier fans did during Mike’s All-America and Big Ten MVP playing career.“Coach Woodson is a class act. During the last four years, he has led the program during a transformational time in college athletics and helped us become a national leader in evolving areas including NIL and the Transfer Portal. No one loves IU Basketball more than he does. I want to thank him for coming back to Bloomington and accepting the challenge of rebuilding our program and re-connecting it with its past and its foundation. In pursuit of that goal, it was important to him that he bring back other legendary Hoosier players such as Calbert Cheaney, Randy Wittman, and Jordan Hulls, all of whom share his love and passion for this program. That’s a group of individuals that combined for 375 wins at IU, seven Big Ten championships, two Final Fours, and a national title.“With this decision made, Coach Woodson and I share the desire to see Hoosier Nation unite beginning on Saturday afternoon in support of these players, coaches, and program.”Filed to: Mike Woodson
