NCAA Investigation into Indiana Basketball Program

[LitlBuck]

Are the allegations indicative of the entire staff's actions, or just Sampson's?

I do not think it is the entire staff. Even when OB was fired from here one of his assistants remained on the Ohio State athletic department for a while. Just because the head coach gets fired I do not think the whole staff has to go unless they are all involved which they are not.

 

[sandgk]

Are the allegations indicative of the entire staff's actions, or just Sampson's?

Sampson is at the center of this - but anyone named in prior complaints or in the current allegations as part of the 3-way phone conversations is not exactly clean at this point.

Sampson has the most to lose, but is not alone, and if they do supend him it probably only leaves one likely interim coach. (Likely as in untainted and with appropriate experience).

 

[Best Buckeye]

Sampson inquiry set Indiana's president wants report by next week
Link Toledo Blade

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Kelvin Sampson's future as Indiana's basketball coach could be determined by next week.

University president Michael McRobbie said yesterday the school will conduct a new investigation into NCAA accusations that Sampson committed five major rules violations.

A school investigation last year revealed Sampson and his assistants made more than 100 impermissible calls. That occurred while Sampson was on NCAA probation for making 577 improper phone calls between 2000 and 2004 while coaching Oklahoma.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Louisville Courier

IU lays foundation for firing Sampson

It's over now for Kelvin Sampson. He'll probably go through the sham of coaching the Indiana University basketball team against Michigan State in Assembly Hall tonight. Chances are he'll stretch the circus into a farewell game here against Purdue on Tuesday.
Sampson might struggle with an NCAA rulebook, but he certainly knows how to pretend he can survive as a serial rule-breaker at a school that has gone more than four decades without major NCAA rule violations.
From the moment his athletic department exposed him as a rule-breaker last October, Sampson has tried to suggest his problems with the NCAA were no big deal, a misunderstanding, a mistake.
IU administrators, fans and even the media have played along with the script. The self-reported violations were minor. What were major were the expectations for a talented team led by senior D.J. White and freshman Eric Gordon.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Indy Star

The man who hired Samson is now leading the investigation.
Investigation led by man who hired Sampson? It's a sham

This is nothing more than a little dance they have to do, a procedural two-step orchestrated by the school's legal beagles before IU does what it needs to do and will do in less than a week's time -- fire Kelvin Sampson.

This is about appearances, window dressing, about looking like IU gave Sampson a chance to address the charges in the NCAA's letter of allegations. This is about ensuring that the university doesn't get slammed down the road the way Ohio State did, when it lost a wrongful termination suit filed by former coach Jim O'Brien.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
What's another internal investigation of the NCAA charges supposed to do? Exonerate Sampson? He has already acknowledged he violated the terms of his probation stemming from the Oklahoma mess. Now he is being charged with five additional "major'' violations, including lying to IU and NCAA investigators.
Suddenly he's going to become a beacon of truthfulness? IU is going to believe him when he says, "Honest, I'm not lying this time"?
The truth is, he should be suspended for tonight's game, should be suspended until the resolution of this latest matter.
He has already gotten enough second chances.
He got a second chance when the clowns in IU's academic and athletic administration hired him -- instead of Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings (Purdue guy) or then-West Virginia coach John Beilein ($4 million buyout).
Sampson got a second second chance when an internal investigation uncovered several violations of the terms of his probation. More impermissible calls. More shortcuts. More sloppiness.
Now Sampson is getting his third second chance.
He shouldn't coach the Hoosiers tonight or any night until a decision has been reached. How is that going to look, IU on national TV with their dead-duck coach

 

[Best Buckeye]

Chicago Sun Times

The Clock is ticking on Sampson;

Still coaching, tick, tick. Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson was not fired today, tick, tick.
But school president Michael McRobbie held a news conference, giving the athletic department seven days to investigate the NCAA?s accusations that Sampson committed major recruiting violations involving impermissible phone calls, and then lied to the school and NCAA officials about it.
Is this a stalling tactic? Just a hunch, but McRobbie might be looking for a safe way to can Sampson as soon as possible without threat of Sampson suing the school.
The Indianapolis Star reported that Sampson?s contract, which has five years left, allows IU to fire him for ``just cause?? and pay him nothing beyond the end of the month. But when Ohio State fired coach Jim O?Brien before the NCAA had ruled on his alleged infractions, he sued OSU and won.
Maybe McRobbie is just trying to find a safe way out.
Can we call this Bruce Weber?s revenge? He and Sampson have had an ugly rivalry, based on Sampson?s recruiting dirty tricks. As you know, Sampson stole away recruit Eric Gordon, who had given an oral commitment to play for the Illini. (Gordon is not listed among the NCAA?s accusations).
But consider this: The NCAA sent a letter to IU late last week detailing the alleged major violations. IU officials, who had already conducted a self-investigation, responded publicly that the NCAA had been better-equipped to gather information. For example, the NCAA had been able to call the recruits who were supposedly on banned-three-way calls with Sampson. Sampson?s claim is that he didn?t know he was on three-way calls.

 

[sandgk]

I don't agree with Kravitz's column that you quote. Here is why. It doesn't really matter if they have Wiggums leading the investigation. IU has to deliver their preliminary answer within 10 days of the notice of allegations. If Kravitz's thesis is right IU is going to issue a no foul no infraction report, embracing a presumed Sampson stance of "who me, cheat, never." Setting aside the obvious, that the AD will inevitably have his fingerprints on the internal investigation, if made real that makes for the following an event ...

Which would be deadly for IU basketball, a program that heretofore was blemish free since 1960.
Which would seal Greenspan's fate completely in the negative once the internal findings hit the University President's desk.
Which would surely PO the NCAA and force even worse punishment than anything they are likely to find.

The more likely outcome is that Greenspan's investigation admits errors, likely pointing only to Sampson or Sampson and some assistant coaches, and leads to the suspension of Sampson (with pay - got to prevent a contract dispute) and then post-season leads to Sampson's dismissal.

Kravitz is simply missing the point.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Oh , I agree with you Sandgk. My thoughts while reading that were more along the line of Kravitz just being tired of and disgusted with the whole mess.
And trying to deal with the whole Ind BB scene which goes clear back to Bobby's firing.

 

[BB73]

The best way to enforce the rules is to make the decision makers (ADs and University Presidents) feel the pain. Punishing the coach doesn't do that. Taking down banners doesn't do that. Reducing their ability to compete for revenue does that.

Kids get blindsided and that is a shame. But Sampson was tainted. IU knew it and new kids to the IU program should have known it. The IU LOIs should have included a disclaimer describing all infractions of the university and its coaches over the past five years. Anything that makes it hard for tainted coaches to succeed is a good thing.

But I also believe the rules should allow kids to transfer from penalized program without sitting out. That not only is fair to the kids, but it further punishes the program which should be the target of penalties.

I think that's a good idea, but there would be real problems in enacting it. At what point would the players be allowed to leave?

- When the school does the self-report (this was last October in IU's case, and almost nobody was aware of it)
- When the NCAA responds with the charges of violations
- When the school responds back
- When the final NCAA ruling is made and sanctions are specified

Obviously there are numerous schools that are guilty of secondary violations every year, so I'm assuming you're only suggesting it in the cases of "major" violations. But which "major violations", and how many are needed?

I doubt the NCAA would let IU's current players transfer and play next year (Gordon will just go to the NBA), although the NCAA did allow that after the Baylor debacle in the summer of 2003 (one player pleaded guilty to the murder of another, and Baylor released any player who wanted to trasfer from the program).

But I do believe that the NCAA should allow those players that have signed an LOI but have not yet enrolled to have the LOI rescinded when the NCAA issues a report of "major violations". That would penalize Indiana in the future, and NOT penalize the players who haven't yet started their college careers. It's these 4 guys for IU (3 of which verbally committed AFTER the self-report of violations was sent by IU to the NCAA.

indiana.scout.2008.bball.commits

I remember what Matta had promised to Oden, Conley, Cook, etc. when they committed to tOSU. If there were any additional sanctions brought down by the NCAA, the players would be free to go somewhere besides tOSU. I haven't heard of anything like that in IU's case, and I haven't heard anything yet about their 2008 recruits.

 

[Best Buckeye]

But I do believe that the NCAA should allow those players that have signed an LOI but have not yet enrolled to have the LOI rescinded when the NCAA issues a report of "major violations".
indiana.scout.2008.bball.commits

I remember what Matta had promised to Oden, Conley, Cook, etc. when they committed to tOSU. If there were any additional sanctions brought down by the NCAA, the players would be free to go somewhere besides tOSU. I haven't heard of anything like that in IU's case, and I haven't heard anything yet about their 2008 recruits.

I would think this should be the standard escape clause. That way the signees would suffer no loss of playing time or have to lay off a year.

point two: Matta only did what was right in his eyes and I think that shows his character.

 

[BB73]

point two: Matta only did what was right in his eyes and I think that shows his character.

I'm not trying to say anything negative about Matta, but besides being the "right thing to do"; his promise was also a smart thing in order to increase his chances of signing those guys, and it was in the self-interest of Matta and tOSU to make those promises.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Sorry for not wording that right BB73, I was right in step with what you were trying to say and agreeing with you. :tongue2:
Some times you noob's have a hard time undetstanding us older, smarter, and better looking guys .

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

- When the school does the self-report (this was last October in IU's case, and almost nobody was aware of it)
- When the NCAA responds with the charges of violations
- When the school responds back
- When the final NCAA ruling is made and sanctions are specified

Now, my understanding of step 3 in our case was that we agreed with all of the charges except one--the lack of institutional control, pointing to our quick dismissal of O'Serbian and our already in place self-imposed sanctions.

Above someone seems to be thinking that IU might be fighting the charges in step 3? If this were the case, why would they fire Sampson? Or, did I misunderstand it to mean that IU essentially did a, "who us? cheat?" in their initial step 1.

 

[BB73]

Sorry for not wording that right BB73, I was right in step with what you were trying to say and agreeing with you. :tongue2:
Some times you noob's have a hard time undetstanding us older, smarter, and better looking guys .

I'll defer to you today, since you have more vCash than I do.

But check back tomorrow.

 

[NFBuck]

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=170&f=2353&t=2045998&sto=pagestart

Silly Hoosiers.