A Busy Knight: Texas Tech Discussions, Indiana Lawsuit

Reports that former Indiana coach Bobby Knight would take over the program at Texas Tech intensified Thursday after the Red Raiders were eliminated by Oklahoma State, 71-59, in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament at Kansas City, Mo.

The Dallas Morning News reported that Texas Tech plans to announce the firing of Coach James Dickey at a news conference this afternoon, clearing the way for Knight to become coach. Texas Tech President David Schmidly has had two meetings with Knight, the most recent coming Wednesday night before a Mavericks-Heat NBA game in Miami.

Knight is scheduled to visit the campus within the next week, but his hiring would not be announced until the job has been posted for at least 10 days, as required by Texas law.

The newspaper also quoted a source as saying there would be no provision in a contract with Knight that would attempt to enforce a behavioral conduct code.

Knight, traveling to his home in Arizona after spending time with the St. Louis Cardinals at spring training in Jupiter, Fla., was unavailable for comment. Knight and Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa are friends.

Although it is clear Knight is attempting to line up another coaching job, he’s also planning litigation against his former school. In a letter to Indiana, Knight said he plans to sue the university for slander and libel from his September firing, alleging his former employer cost him more than $7 million.

According to the letter obtained by the Associated Press, Knight alleges the university also violated the Indiana Open Door Law, inflicted emotional distress and interfered with his ability to find a coaching job.

“If the university doesn’t negotiate with us, we have no choice but to sue,” said Knight’s attorney, Russell E. Yates of Denver.

Knight was fired Sept. 10 by Indiana President Myles Brand after 29 years as coach for violating a “zero-tolerance” policy. The firing came after Knight grabbed a freshman student by the arm and lectured him on manners after he greeted the coach informally.

Knight had 180 days to notify the university of his intention to sue. That deadline is today.

The letter, dated March 2, said the damages were “lost income, pain and suffering, mental humiliation and interference with his ability to obtain subsequent employment.”

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Utah Coach Rick Majerus followed Rick Pitino’s lead and told Nevada Las Vegas officials that he was not interested in the Runnin’ Rebel job.

UNLV athletic director Charles Cavagnaro said he talked with Majerus about the job, but that Majerus did not want to come to UNLV.

Last weekend, Pitino--after being courted by UNLV for nearly two months--rejected a job offer that reportedly would have paid him $1.6 million a year. UNLV finished its season on Saturday and is not eligible for postseason play because of NCAA sanctions.

Majerus had previously talked to UNLV when its coaching position was open in 1992 and 1995.

In early January, Majerus had two procedures to repair a heart valve and announced later in the month he was taking the rest of the season off to get healthy and take care of his ailing mother. Assistant Dick Hunsaker has coached Utah (19-10) since Majerus took leave.

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Lingering back problems have ended the career of Kansas senior 6-foot-10 forward Luke Axtell. He has a degenerative disc in his lower back that caused him to sit out several games late in the season. Axtell also sat out the Jayhawks’ first four games with a sprained ankle and two later games when he re-injured the ankle. . . . The NAIA announced that it will move from Tulsa, Okla., to Olathe, Kan., a Kansas City, Mo., suburb. The athletic association spent 35 years in Kansas City before moving to Tulsa in 1993. The NAIA Division I men’s basketball tournament, the nation’s oldest intercollegiate championship, had previously been held in Kansas City since 1937.