''A Season on the Brink'' is a 1986 book by John Feinstein which detailed the 1985–86 season of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

, led by the controversial coach

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

. Granted almost unprecedented access to the Indiana University basketball program, as well as insights into Knight's private life, the book spawned a new genre, as a legion of imitators wrote works covering a single year of a sports franchise.

Writing the book

Feinstein was paid a $17,500 advance to write the book, and had to take a leave of absence from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. Feinstein expected to lose money doing the book, but proceeded with the project anyway in the hopes that it would be good and convince someone to have him write a second book. Feinstein spent six months with the 1985–86 team. He had previously covered Bob Knight in his role as the National College Basketball Writer for ''The Washington Post''. Remarking on his relationship with Bob Knight, Feinstein said the following: The book is noted for showing many facets of Knight's personality, leadership, and character. Feinstein depicts a smart coach who is often quick with sarcasm and a sometimes violent temper, but also a honest coach who never cheats and strictly follows all of the NCAA's rules.

Reception and impact

''A Season on the Brink'' was extremely well received when first published, and is often referred to as "the bestselling sports book of all time". Although it has sold more than two million copies worldwide, it is not in fact the bestselling of all time. The initial book tour for ''Season on the Brink'' was two days in the state of Indiana, but because of its popularity the promotional tour ended up being much larger. As a result of the book, the NCAA passed a rule banning members of the media from being in the locker room of a team before or during a game. Moreover, if one member of the media was allowed, then the locker room was then opened to all members of the media.

Film version

A film version of ''A Season on the Brink'' was made in 2002, becoming the first

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television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

. The movie was filmed in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Canada, and is notable for its prevalent use of

profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...

, intended to accurately represent Knight's tirades.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Season on the Brink, A Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball Basketball books 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1986 non-fiction books