Why did Mike Woodson step down as Indiana basketball coach? He'll explain ... later

Why did Mike Woodson step down as Indiana basketball coach? He’ll explain … later

Posted by author February 8, 2025 Basketball

Spread the love

Mike Woodson will step down as Indiana basketball coach at season’s end and, one day after it was announced, he offered a short statement.

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson is stepping down at the end of the 2024-25 season, but he declined to address the reasons behind his upcoming departure on Saturday afternoon after a 70-67 loss to No. 22 Michigan.

The university put out a statement from Athletic Director Scott Dolson on Friday announcing that Woodson wouldn’t return. Woodson led the team to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances and has a 77-50 overall record, but the team is in the midst of a five-game losing streak and has lost seven of its last eight games.

Before Woodson’s postgame press conference, a member of IU’s sports information department made a brief statement that the coach would address his decision to step down at the “right time.”

The wording echoed what Dolson said in his statement that Woodson would “articulate his feelings” about stepping down at the “appropriate time,” but the athletic department currently doesn’t have a press conference schedule for him to do so.

Indiana also didn’t make players available after the game.

During the CBS broadcast, Spero Dedes and Bill Raftery said they spoke to Woodson prior to the game and he explained some of his reasons for stepping down with them but asked them not to share what he said publicly.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.