The NCAA acknowledged that Indiana intended to closely monitor Sampson and his assistants but said the university fell short, largely because it did not have a good system in place when Sampson was hired and had to develop one “on the fly.” Compliance officials did not follow up on phone record requests in a timely manner and focused too much on collaborating with the men’s basketball program and not enough on adhering to requirements, it said.

“I was gratified they accepted the penalties and added nothing new to it, and that’s good,” said Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who’s in Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational. “They recognized that the program had been devastated by the penalties and the departure of virtually of the whole team. While it’s the end of a dark chapter, hopefully it is the beginning of a new chapter.”

Under terms of its probation, IU will be required to implement a comprehensive educational program on NCAA recruiting and eligibility rules for all coaches and their staffs and report annually to the NCAA on progress and participation.

IU President Michael McRobbie said the athletics department already has begun that work.

“This was a one-time deviation from a half-century record of having no major NCAA infractions,” McRobbie said in a statement. “The coaches who were directly involved in this are no longer employed by Indiana University. And, we are very determined never to allow anything like this to happen again.”

McRobbie and Crean said the focus now is on restoring a program that has undergone a complete overhaul.

Only two players from last season’s team remain. The others were kicked off, transferred, graduated or left early for the NBA. The team has just nine scholarship players instead of the 13 allowed by NCAA rules after giving up scholarships because of the NCAA investigation and poor academic scores.

The university bought out Sampson’s contract for $750,000 in February. None of Sampson’s assistants was retained, and athletic director Rick Greenspan announced his resignation the same day the failure to monitor charge was filed. He will leave at the end of December.

“This is what gutting a program looks like, and you have to keep moving forward,” said Crean, who left Marquette to take over the program in April. “That’s what we’ll do, and we get to do it in the long term.”

Also on NBCSports.com Howard: Look at what Agassi is now, not was PFT: Cowboys on rise in our power rankings NCAA FB: Ready for player exodus?  |    Top juniors MLB blog: A look at the top 111 free agents Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

MORE FROM COLLEGE BASKETBALL

College basketball Section Front

Hope for even the worst FT shooters. Or not. Davis: Youthful UCLA will make noise eventually   Vote: Who will be player of the year? Rautins leads Syracuse in rout of Robert Morris   Isiah Thomas signs 3 recruits to play for FIU Seton Hall basketball player charged with DWI Beyond the Arc: Celebrating college hoops’ last Rebels 5 Razorbacks suspended for opener Minnesota freshman White under suspicion again   Beyond the Arc: Send Sweet Lou good thoughts College basketball Section Front   Add College basketball headlines to your news reader: