Report: Former Knicks Head Coach Moving On From College Job

Former New York Knicks boss Mike Woodson is apparently moving on as HC of IU.

Per Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel of ESPN, Woodson and Indiana University are set to part ways at the end of this trying season. Standing at the helm of the Hoosiers was Woodson's first head coaching job since his three-season tour with the Knicks in 2012-14.

Woodson, 66, returned to Bloomington with a bit of fanfare in 2021, as he had previously made a name for himself on the hallowed floor of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as a player under Bobby Knight. He got the Hoosier job after spending the prior season as an assistant on Tom Thibodeau's first Knicks staff.

Things started well enough under Woodson's watch: the Hoosiers won 21 games and reached the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in his debut season and won a game in a return trip the following season. Combined with 23 wins and a runner-up finish in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers reached those landmarks for the first time since 2015-16.

Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson talks with Mackenzie Mgbako (21) during the second half of the Indiana versus Ohio State men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

IU, however, failed to reach the tournament last season and declined an invitation to the National Invitational Tournament. Expectations were higher this time around after a solid year in the transfer portal: the Hoosiers were ranked second in the Big Ten's preseason poll and 17th in the debut national rankings from the Associated Press.

But a tough showing at the Battle 4 Atlantis, featuring one-sided losses to Louisville and Gonzaga, set the tone for a disappointing year and they have been excluded in the last three editions of the AP poll entirely. The Hoosiers have lost each of their last four and six of their last seven, including a 76-64 decision against No. 21 Wisconsin on Tuesday. IU trailed by as many as 23 before making the final somewhat respectable.

Entering this weekend, the Hoosiers (14-9, 5-7 Big Ten) currently place 11th in the conference. Major bracket projections for the 2025 NCAA Tournament have kept the Hoosiers on the sidelines as they look to avoid consecutive postseason misses for the first time since 2009-11.

The beginning of Woodson's end comes on Saturday when the Hoosiers face No. 24 Michigan in Bloomington (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

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