Glass not bothered by Knight’s absence from induction ceremony

Together, two former coaches and five former athletes have won 31 Big Ten championships and nine national championships. Individually, they have been known as one of, if not the best, in their respective sports.

The 2009 class members of the IU Hall of Fame were rewarded Friday for their achievements during their time at IU.

The class included former men’s basketball player Steve Downing, former IU coach Bob Knight, track and field performer Katrin Koch, football players Joe Norman and the late Mike Rabold, along with swimmer Alan Somers and former coach men’s coach Jerry Yeagley.

“I’m excited about the class and feel some ownership of that because it’s the first class which I’ve been involved,” IU Athletics Director Fred Glass said.

Almost 800 people showed up to the largest induction ceremony IU has ever had.

However, the man who contributed the most wins to IU men’s basketball was a no-show.

“I’m here tonight for the same essential reason that Bob isn’t – to make sure the spotlight shines on these six,” said Bob Hammel, 2008 Hall of Fame inductee and former Herald-Times sportswriter.

Knight’s absence, which was described as his attempt to avoid a media circus, did not bother Glass.

“Coach Knight is not being inducted to start a thaw or ... for the purpose of bringing the family back together again,” Glass said. “He was inducted because it was the right thing to do – period. Frankly, I didn’t want to be involved in an induction process if it didn’t include Coach Knight because I thought he belonged in the Hall of Fame.”

Although Knight and Glass have never spoken, they have corresponded through letters in which Knight’s latest response further discussed his reasoning for not accepting his induction in person.

“I have now and always will have a tremendous appreciation for the support ... from the student body and the fans all over the state of Indiana,” Knight said in the letter read by Hammel.