Robert Montgomery Knight, also known as “The General”, was born on the 25th October 1940 in Massillon, Ohio, USA, and is a former basketball coach, probably best recognized for being a head coach of four college teams, as well as the USA Men’s Olympic Team. He is also known for having over 900 career wins, and three national titles with Indiana University. His career was active from 1962 to 2008.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Bobby Knight is? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that the total size of Knight’s net worth is over $15 million as of early 2017, accumulated through his successful involvement in the sports industry. Other sources are coming from his autobiographical book, and appearing in several film titles.
Bobby Knight Net Worth $15 Million
Bobby Knight was raised in his hometown as a single child by his parents Pat and Hazel Knight. At a young age, he showed interest for various sports and became a talented multisport athlete. He was a star basketball player while he attended Orrville High School, and continued playing basketball at Ohio State University, being a reserve player but still a key contributor in their winning of the 1960 NCAA Championship. He graduated with a BA degree in History and Government in 1962, and in the same year his career as a coach began.
Bobby went on to work as an assistant coach at Cuyahoga Falls High School, and subsequently at the United States Military Academy (Army), then In 1965, he became the youngest varsity basketball head coach in the history of NCAA. His unique coaching philosophy – one which put the accent on disciplined, unselfish plays in the offense and relentless lockdown in defense – proved immensely successful and this marked the beginning of an increase of his net worth.
In 1971, he began coaching at Indiana University, where he would win three championship titles – in 1976, 1981 and 1987 over the span of 29 years as a head coach of The Hoosiers, increasing further his net worth. Beside that, he also won the Big Ten championship several times. However, his infamous temperamental behavior and alleged verbal and physical abuse of players and university employees led to many controversies and eventual dismissal of Knight from the position of head coach in 2000.
However, Knight was also head coach of the United States Pan American team in Puerto Rico in 1979, winning the gold medal, and in 1984 he coached the USA Men’s Basketball Team to the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
In 2001, he signed as the head coach at Texas Tech University, which added a considerable amount to his net worth. It didn’t take him long to get the Red Raiders into shape and achieve similar success and fame with his new team, going on to win 20 games in four consecutive seasons, which had never been done before in school history, including in 2005 advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. In January 2007, Knight broke the record for the most wins by a men’s basketball coach in Division I history, by surpassing Dean Smith with his 880th career victory. In 2008, he made the decision to retire, ending his career with a record of 902 wins and 371 losses.
Thanks to his accomplishments in the sports industry, Knight received a number of awards and honors, including four National Coach of the Year awards, eight Big Ten Coach of the Year awards, and a Naismith Coach of the Year award, among many others. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Since his retirement, Knight has served as a studio analyst and a part-time commentator with ESPN. In 2009, together with Championship Productions he produced three instructional coaching DVD libraries concerning some of the cornerstones of his coaching philosophy. Additionally, Knight published an autobiography entitled “Knight: My Story” in 2003, which he wrote together with Bob Hammel. Beside this, he has appeared in a couple of films and television productions. His net worth is certainly rising.
In his personal life, Bobby Knight has been married to Karen Vieth Edgar, a former Oklahoma High School basketball coach, since 1988. Previously, he was married to Nancy Falk (1963-1985), with whom he has two sons, one of whom, Pat Knight, is a head coach at Texas Tech and Lamar University.
