Brand may be best known for terminating men's head basketball coach Bob Knight in 2000. Reactions to the firing were varied with public opinion split with strong feelings one way or the other common across the state. The night of the firing a crowd estimated at 2,000, consisting mostly of students, vandalized the Showalter Fountain, the university football field and marched on the president's on-campus home, the Bryan House. During this unrest, Brand was hanged in effigy. Despite his effectiveness as a fundraiser, Brand's firing of Bobby Knight caused his popularity among students and alumni to plummet.