Indiana’s Mike Woodson to Step Down as HC After 2024-25 CBB Season amid Struggles

Zach BacharContributor IFebruary 6, 2025

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Indiana men’s basketball head coach Mike Woodson will step down after the 2024-25 season, Athletic Director Scott Dolson announced in a statement Friday.

The news comes after Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 reported Thursday that Woodson was contemplating stepping down and retiring before reporting that the two sides were going to part ways.

Pete Thamel @PeteThamelpic.twitter.com/bcMqpLaZbj

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello also reported Thursday that Indiana and Woodson were “in discussions” surrounding his future at the school and the coach is “unlikely” to return for the 2025-26 season.

Woodson has been with the Hoosiers since 2021.

Indiana currently sits at 14-9 and has struggled as of late, losing six of its past seven games.

The Hoosiers are coming off a 76-64 defeat against Wisconsin that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, as the Hoosiers instantly faced a 22-point deficit just over seven minutes into the first half.

“We’re just not a tough team right now,” Woodson said after the loss, per Steve Megargee of the Associated Press. “We’re not. Mentally we’re not tough.”

“Right now our backs are against the wall,” he added. “We’re not playing great basketball. We’re playing in spurts.”

Woodson owns an overall record of 77-49 with Indiana, making NCAA Tournament appearances in both of his first two years at the school. The Hoosiers couldn’t secure a March Madness spot after finishing with a 19-14 record during the 2023-24 season, and their recent losing stretch has put a 2025 tournament appearance in serious doubt.

Indiana has struggled against Big Ten opponents, owning a 15-17 record against conference foes since the start of its 2023-24 campaign.

Before joining the Hoosiers, Woodson was an assistant coach for six different NBA teams and also had head-coaching stints with the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.

Now, his tenure with Indiana will be coming to a close at the end of the season.