Petition By Indiana Hall Of Famer Proposes 17th Street Be Renamed 'Bob Knight Way'

Harold Mauro wants the main street nearest to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to honor the legendary basketball coach.

Indiana coach Bob Knight talks to his team in their locker room during the 1976 NCAA Final Four in Baton Rouge, LA. Bob Knight Old Images 76 Locker Room / Rich Clarkson / NCAA Photos / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – An Indiana University Athletics Hall of Famer is proposing to make a change in Bloomington that would honor a Hoosiers giant.

Harold Mauro, inducted into the Indiana Athletics Hall Of Fame in 2016, has begun a change.org petition to rename a portion of 17th Street “Bob Knight Way”.

 Mauro began the petition on Aug. 1. In his proposal, 17th Street would be renamed from Dunn Street east to Fee Lane.

This is a stretch of 17th Street that runs directly south of both Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and Memorial Stadium, Indiana’s two most famous athletic facilities.

In his proposal, Mauro says that Knight, “stood for excellence in his 29 years of coaching the Hoosiers.” Knight’s three national championships, National Invitation Tournament title and 11 Big Ten titles are cited.

“He was one of college basketball's most successful and innovative coaches, having popularized the motion offense,” the petition states. “He received national coach of the year honors four times and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors eight times. All but four of his four-year players completed their degrees – a graduation rate of nearly 98 percent.”

Mauro also notes Knight’s contributions to libraries at Indiana and Texas Tech (where Knight coached from 2001-08) and that Knight endowed two faculty chairs at Indiana.

“In short, Bob Knight showed the way to excellence in athletic competition and in academics. He has left an indelible mark on the history of Indiana University and deserves to be recognized,” the petition concludes.

No money is being sought for the petition. The petition states that any donations will be donated to a charity favored by Knight.

Knight won 902 games in his college coaching career spent at Army (1965-71), Indiana (1971-2000) and Texas Tech (2001-08). Of those victories, 662 of them were won at Indiana. Knight was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, part of its inaugural class.

Knight died on Nov. 1, 2023 in Bloomington.

Indiana moved the majority of its athletic facilities into the vicinity of 17th Street in the late 1950s and 1960s. It’s a de facto main street of Indiana athletics. Nearly all of Indiana’s major athletic facilities are within walking distance of 17th Street.

None of the primary streets around Indiana’s athletic facilities are named after athletic figures. Dunn Street (west of Memorial Stadium) and Fee Lane (east of Assembly Hall) are named after early Bloomington families.

Mauro is himself an Indiana athletic fixture.

He was a participant in nine of Indiana’s 10 bowl games as a player, assistant coach or administrator. Mauro played linebacker for Indiana in 1964-65 before he was switched to center. Mauro was the starting center for Indiana’s 1967 Rose Bowl team.

Mauro was on Indiana’s football staff under John Pont in 1972 and then returned to work on Lee Corso’s staff in 1977. He became offensive coordinator in 1982.

Mauro moved over to the administrative duties and spent 22 years as senior associate athletics director. He supervised the department of athletics support services and as a sport administrator.

Mauro became director of football operations in 2005 and retired in 2010.

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