Amidst a challenging season, Indiana men’s basketball head coach Mike Woodson is committed to being a part of the solution moving forward.
Woodson, who turns 66 on March 24, is in Year 3 of a six-year contract signed March of 2021 — and he intends on being in Bloomington for years to come.
“I'm almost 66 but I feel good and still move around, and I think I still think well in terms of the game, and I still think I can teach the game,” Woodson said in a Zoom press conference Tuesday.
Woodson will be turning 69 years old when his contract expires in March of 2027 and he’s unsure if he’ll want to coach beyond then.
“There are coaches that are coaching into their 70s,” Woodson said. “I don't know if that's something I'll do. But at this point, I'll take it a day at a time, a year at a time. I'm not going anywhere any time soon, guys, I'm just not.”
The Indianapolis native has led the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons, going 21-14 in 2021-2022 and 23-12 in 2022-2023. Indiana missed the tournament in each of the previous five years before Woodson took over.
A star player on Bob Knight’s Indiana squads from 1976-1980, Woodson played in the NBA from 1980-1991 before transitioning into coaching in 1996. He was twice an NBA head coach, first from 2004-2010 with the Atlanta Hawks and again from 2012-2014 with the New York Knicks.
Woodson compiled a record of 44-26 during his first two years, but the Hoosiers have battled inconsistency this season. Indiana is 14-11 overall and 6-8 in Big Ten play with six games remaining. The Hoosiers haven’t beaten a ranked foe and are just 4-3 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against conference opponents.
Woodson, who now earns over $4 million annually after receiving a raise from $3 million last spring, has been given his first extensive taste of disappointment — yet he remains focused on satisfying the goal he set upon returning to Bloomington: restoring Indiana’s national relevancy.
“I came back to try to put this team in the best position possible, and I'm going to continue to do that,” Woodson said. “I'm going to continue to build this team and put it in the best position possible and see where it leads us.”
Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
