Opponents see Knight's bright side

LUBBOCK, Texas -- When the idea of Texas Tech hiring Bob Knight first came up, two distinct groups formed quickly: Passionate supporters and passionate opponents.

Nearly eight months later, with the Red Raiders days away from their opener, the sides have found some common ground: Knight has exceeded their expectations.

Backers have been surprised and critics impressed with how much publicity Knight has brought the school and how many dollars he's generated. Seeing $70,000 earmarked for the campus library has gone a long way with his most vocal foes, the 100 faculty members who signed a petition against his hiring.

"To my knowledge, we've never had a coach who probably even knew where the library was, let alone put any money into it," said geography professor Gary Elbow, who proofread and signed the petition. "The bottom line is going to be actions speaking louder than words. If he comports himself well, then the administration has pulled off a pretty good coup."

The faculty faction was probably the largest, and certainly the most vocal, of the anti-Knight groups that surfaced in the two-week spring courtship before Tech hired the coach who was fired by Indiana in September 2000.

Most West Texans were willing to overlook his bad temper, foul language and outrageous behavior, focusing instead on the good that Knight could do in so many areas where Tech was bad.

They pointed to Knight's three national championships, his .726 winning percentage in 29 seasons, the high graduation rate of his players and his unblemished record with the NCAA. They also expected an attendance boost for the men's team, which drew about 4,000 fans to the new $68 million, 15,050-seat United Spirit Arena, where the women's team draws roughly 13,000.

Biology professor Robert Baker started out among the skeptics. He didn't sign the petition, but took his concerns straight to school president David Schmidly.

Schmidly asked Baker, a devoted men's basketball fan since coming to Tech in 1968, to withhold judgment until meeting Knight at the faculty athletic council.

At that session, Baker wound up challenging Knight about his past. The coach was ready. He explained every episode in detail in a meeting that lasted 90 minutes. Baker and others left believing they had the right man for the job.

"When we went outside, he came over to me and said, 'Thank you,"' Baker said. "Whenever he sees me now, he still kind of ribs me, 'Do you have any more hard questions?"'

A selling point

Knight's hiring made national headlines, even though it was on the Friday of the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.

Tickets and souvenirs sold at record pace in the following days and weeks. Buyers included disgruntled Hoosiers fans.

Tech sold all its season tickets within 1 1/2 days, doubling its total to 13,000. That included the sale of more than 1,000 personal seat licenses, which required an eight-year commitment and cost between $1,400 and $4,000, not including the price of season tickets.

Several games are sold out; only individual tickets remain for the rest. With the Lady Raiders entering this season ranked No. 7, Tech could overtake Tennessee to lead the nation in combined women's and men's attendance.

Membership in the Red Raider booster club has grown by 25 percent to 4,000. A student booster club that began in February has 5,600 members, making it the nation's largest.

To cash in on the momentum, the Red Raider Club organized fund-raising events across the state called "A Sharp Knight Under the Texas Stars," featuring women's coach Marsha Sharp and Knight. Nearly 1,200 people showed up in Dallas, 800 in Houston.

On Knight's advice, more money was raised at each stop through an auction. It also was his idea to sell 48 courtside seats that had been used by reporters; the $144,000 raised will go toward scholarships.