NCAA gives IU probation over Sampson calls
School's first major violation in any sport since '60, but no postseason ban
 | The NCAA imposed restrictions on former Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson through November 2013 should he return to college coaching. |
Michael Conroy / AP |
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INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana University accepted its punishment with a sense of relief.
It could have been much worse.
After months of uncertainty over an embarrassing telephone scandal that rocked the school’s signature basketball program, the NCAA put the Hoosiers on probation for three years on Tuesday but imposed no additional penalties.
The man at the center of the scandal, former coach Kelvin Sampson, wasn’t as fortunate. Sampson faces potentially five more years of recruiting restrictions if hired by another school.
“I really believe this allows us to put the whole, ugly episode behind us and move forward,” said incoming athletic director Fred Glass. “I’m obviously disappointed with the failure to monitor finding, but I’m very glad the committee didn’t impose any other penalties.”
The announcement ends a 20-month saga that began with Sampson’s hiring in March 2006 and escalated with an internal investigation Indiana launched in July 2007.
Since February, school officials worried the NCAA could hand down harsher sanctions — such as a postseason ban or additional scholarship losess — than those already imposed by the school.
Infractions committee chairwoman Jo Potuto acknowledged Indiana was spared additional punishment because of its cooperation with the investigation, its own decision to take away a scholarship and extend recruiting restrictions and the school’s long tradition of abiding by the rules. It’s the first time since 1960 that the school has been found guilty of a major infraction in any sport.
The timing, however, was awkward. Indiana was playing a game in Hawaii when word leaked about the NCAA decision, but it didn’t matter to new coach Tom Crean.
“Now we know we can move this program in the right direction and build it without more sanctions, and for that I’m happy, very happy, and am very thankful,” Crean said after losing to St. Joseph’s. “We didn’t want to lose postseason, scholarships or television, and thank God we didn’t lose any of those, so we can continue to move the program without the what-ifs.”
In finding Indiana guilty of failing to monitor its basketball program, the NCAA faulted the university for not having adequate “real time” monitoring systems in place when Sampson was hired but acknowledged the former coach’s conduct was “unprecedented.”
It also placed substantial blame on Sampson.
The committee ruled he ignored signed compliance agreements with Indiana and ignored telephone restrictions imposed by the NCAA. Potuto also said Sampson deliberately lied to committee members and cited one such instance.
“With regard to the three-way phone calls, the former head coach said he did not knowingly participate in any three-way phone calls,” Potuto told reporters. “The former assistant said he introduced the recruit on the call and the report quotes a number of prospects and parents who said they were introduced to him (Sampson) on the phone.”
Sampson, now an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks, issued a statement Tuesday saying he was “deeply disappointed” by the NCAA findings.
“The accusations at hand are things that happened on my watch and therefore I will take responsibility. I am truly sorry that there were so many people who were hurt in this situation. For the sake of everyone involved, including my family, it is time to move on,” he said.
The NCAA imposed recruiting restrictions on Sampson through November 2013 and a recruiting ban for the first three years. His allowable phone calls would then be reduced to half of the NCAA limit for the remaining two years.
Former assistant Rob Senderoff, now an assistant at Kent State, also faces three years of NCAA sanctions. Senderoff was not available for comment, but athletic director Laing Kennedy said Kent State would abide by the restrictions on Senderoff regarding recruiting calls.
“We are committed to keeping Rob as an integral part of our staff. His impact and long-term value to our program — both on the court and heading up our academic efforts — both far outweigh these penalties,” Kennedy said.
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