Indiana men’s basketball head coach Mike Woodson will not return to the program next season, three sources close to or directly affiliated with the team confirmed to the Indiana Daily Student on Friday.
The Hoosiers’ coaching staff met with the team Thursday night and disclosed that Woodson will finish the rest of the season as head coach, starting with Indiana’s looming game against Michigan at 1 p.m. Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Once Indiana’s season ends, Woodson will depart the program.
No changes in terms of role or responsibilities are imminent on the Hoosiers’ coaching staff, sources confirmed.
Woodson’s contract comes with an $8.4 million buyout if he’s fired this spring. It’s unclear whether his buyout is dependent on the terms of his departure.
Indiana Athletics spokespeople told the Indiana Daily Student they do not have any information regarding Woodson’s status.
Woodson has a 77-49 record with eight regular season games remaining in his fourth campaign in Bloomington. The Hoosiers made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in his first two seasons before falling short of the postseason in 2023-24 and sitting on the wrong side of the bubble for this year’s iteration of March Madness.
Now, with Woodson set to exit, Indiana will enter its third head coaching search in the last decade, this time hoping for better results than it found with former head coach Archie Miller and Woodson.
The 66-year-old Woodson attended Indiana from 1976-1980, playing under late head coach Bob Knight. He scored 2,061 career points and, as a senior in 1980, won Big Ten Most Valuable Player and earned All-American honors.
Before returning to Indiana as head coach in 2021, Woodson spent 11 years playing in the NBA and 21 more as a coach. He was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-2010 and the New York Knicks from March 2012 through the 2014 season.
After his head coaching stint in New York, Woodson was an assistant coach for Los Angeles Clippers from 2014-2018 before returning to the Knicks as an assistant coach from 2020-21.
On March 28, 2021, Indiana hired Woodson as the successor to Archie Miller. In the four years under Miller, the Hoosiers failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament — a drought that quickly ended with their new hire.
Woodson led Indiana to a 21-14 record in his first year at the helm in the 2021-22 season. The Hoosiers ended nine-game losing streaks to in-state rival Purdue and Michigan, advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and earned a No. 12 seed in a long-awaited return to the NCAA Tournament. After defeating the University of Wyoming in the First Four, Indiana was eliminated in the Round of 64 after an 82-53 loss to Saint Mary’s College.
At the conclusion of the season, Woodson fired assistant coach Dane Fife from his staff. Additionally, associate athletic director Thad Matta walked away from the program to take the head coaching position at Butler University. Fife and Matta were initially deemed critical to Woodson’s success adjusting to the college ranks — both were now gone.
One major factor in the Hoosiers’ success during Woodson’s debut season was forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who led the team in points, rebounds and blocks. Despite entering his name into the 2022 NBA Draft, the Second Team All-Big Ten player eventually opted to return to Bloomington for his senior season.
Jackson-Davis, along with freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, powered Indiana to a 23-12 record in Woodson’s second season. Helped by a pair of wins over Purdue and another trip to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, the Hoosiers earned a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament with a No. 4 seed — their highest since the 2012-13 season.
But after beating Kent State University in the Round of 64, Indiana was eliminated in the Round of 32 after an 85-69 loss to the University of Miami.
Under Woodson’s direction, Jackson-Davis was a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten first team by coaches, media and The Associated Press. He finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in rebounds (1,143) and blocks (270) as well as third in points scored (2,258).
Freshman guard Hood-Schifino averaged 13.1 points per game in a campaign that earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. On Feb. 25, 2023, he netted 35 points in a 79-71 win over the Boilermakers — the most by a freshman in program history.
At the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, both Jackson-Davis and Hood-Schifino were selected in the 2023 NBA Draft — setting the stage for a large-scale roster shift ahead of Woodson’s third year.
Indiana’s turnover ahead of the 2023-24 season included 10 new members to the squad. Headlining the newcomers was sophomore center Kel’el Ware, who arrived from Oregon.
Despite Ware’s individual success and eventual lottery selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Hoosiers struggled mightily, finishing the season with a 19-14 overall record and 10-10 in the Big Ten.
After two consecutive trips to March Madness, Indiana failed to clinch a berth.
But ahead of the 2024-25 season, there was excitement from fans and high expectations for the new-look Hoosier squad, one which touted the second-best transfer portal class in the country, according to 247Sports.
A 4-0 start and a No. 14 ranking in the AP Poll seemed to validate the excitement surrounding Indiana. But after a 1-2 showing with blowout losses at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, the Hoosiers dropped out of the top 25.
Indiana’s 8-1 record over the next nine games provided some momentum, but the Hoosiers dropped six of their next seven contests. Heading into their bout with Michigan on Saturday, the Cream and Crimson hold an overall record of 14-9 and 5-7 in the Big Ten.
Amid the rise of the Hoosiers’ football program and the instant success of first-year head coach Curt Cignetti, there will be lofty expectations for Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson’s new hire.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
