These past two months have been difficult ones for Indiana University and its many friends and supporters, as the administration and the Trustees of IU have considered the allegations surrounding our men's basketball program and Coach Bob Knight.

Trustees John Walda and Frederick Eichhorn completed a thorough review of those allegations. When that review was complete, the trustees discussed the findings and assigned me the responsibility to make a final determination in this matter.

I decided to allow Coach Knight to continue as men's basketball coach under strict and well-defined conditions. The university will have zero tolerance for future cases of inappropriate physical contact between the coach and his players or any other members of the university community. Such actions will be grounds for immediate dismissal. Any public presentations in which Coach Knight acts as a representative of IU must be conducted with proper civility and respect. Failure to do so will be the cause for further sanctions, up to and including dismissal.

A commission, headed by the athletic director, will develop policies for all coaches, athletic department employees and student-athletes, with sanctions developed for violating these policies. The university needs to do a better job of establishing clear codes of conduct and making sure those guidelines are enforced.

In addition, Coach Knight will be suspended for three games, and he will have $30,000 withheld from his salary. He has issued a written apology in response to several incidents that came to light during the trustees' investigation.

Had Coach Knight not accepted these conditions, I was prepared to recommend his dismissal, and I am confident that the Board of Trustees would have supported that decision.

Throughout this process, our chief concern has been pursuing the overall best interests of Indiana University. In doing so, we had to look both at the seriousness of the allegations against Coach Knight and at many positives he has contributed during his 29 years at the university.

I know that IU basketball fans demand a coach who adheres to the highest academic standards, and runs a clean and successful program. Coach Knight has been such a coach. But IU also must demand that all of its personnel conduct themselves in a spirit of mutual civility and respect. Coach Knight has pledged to do so.
As long as he lives up to that pledge, I believe he will be the right coach for Indiana University basketball.
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