PHOTOS: IU's Many Sports Illustrated Covers

The lore about Indiana University’s men’s basketball team isn’t a tale quite as old as time—but its luster has surely risen and fallen over the decades. Collected here, Sports Illustrated‘s many covers tell the story of all the victories and losses that the Hoosiers have netted, both on and off the court: the championships, the disgrace of the Kelvin Sampson era, Bob Knight‘s volatile temper and mighty leadership, and the stars who have taken to that hallowed court in Assembly Hall.
It’s been said that nothing passes as quickly and quietly as the future. Especially with The General, Knight, on the sidelines and supervising three NCAA championships, that axiom could not be less true of the Hoosiers. And perhaps Knight is the last person one would ever say “graced” a magazine cover, but it cannot be argued that the man, the leader, the legend has left his imprint on basketball by way of his legacies, his charges turned titans (think Mike Krzyzewski at Duke), and his champs turned icons (Isiah Thomas and more—with the likes of Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo to follow?).