Indiana men’s basketball head coach Mike Woodson will retire after this season, Indiana Athletics announced in a press release Friday.
The Indiana Daily Student reported Friday morning Woodson will finish the season but leave the program once the Hoosiers’ 2024-25 campaign ends.
“During a meeting with Coach Woodson on Wednesday, he informed me he wanted to step down as our program’s head coach at the end of the current season,” Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson said in the release. “He said it had been weighing on his mind for a while, and that it was an emotional and difficult decision.”
Dolson said he and Woodson have engaged in “thoughtful conversations” about Woodson’s decision and his desire to put the program in the best position moving forward. Woodson’s top priority, Dolson said, is to take the attention off him and unite the Hoosier faithful in support of the student athletes.
Indiana’s coaching staff informed the team of Woodson’s looming departure during a team meeting Thursday night, multiple sources close to the team told the Indiana Daily Student.
Entering the Hoosiers’ 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday against Michigan at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Woodson owns a coaching record of 77-49. Indiana is 14-9 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten this season, and the Hoosiers have lost six of their past seven games.
Dolson said he and Woodson hope Indiana fans rally around and support the program over the final eight games of the regular season before turning the page on Woodson’s tenure.
“Coach Woodson is a class act,” Dolson said. “During the last four years, he has led the program during a transformational time in college athletics and helped us become a national leader in evolving areas including NIL and the Transfer Portal. No one loves IU Basketball more than he does.”
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.
