Brand: Violations could follow coach

INDIANAPOLIS -- Recent trends suggest new basketball coach Kelvin Sampson and IU could be more likely to receive NCAA sanctions than his former school, the University of Oklahoma, NCAA President Myles Brand said Thursday.\nAt his annual Final Four press conference, the former IU president said when a violation of the organization's bylaws occurs, the recent NCAA Committee on Infractions has been more inclined to penalize the coach instead of the university if the coach is no longer employed at that university.\n"The coaches are being held to a higher level of accountability in terms of where the sanctions are made than in the past," Brand said. "That's a trend I've noticed."\nAt a press conference at Assembly Hall Wednesday, Sampson said his staff made too many phone calls to recruits while at Oklahoma.\nAccording to NCAA bylaws, institutions cannot call a high school recruit more than once a month between June 15 of the prospect's sophomore year through July 31 of his junior year. Beginning Aug. 1 of the player's senior year, the institution can make two calls per month. For junior college prospects, the institution is permitted one phone call per week.\nAny violation of those rules does not affect the eligibility of the prospect. Rather, sanctions could be imposed on the school or the coach.\nThe sanctions handed out by the Committee on Infractions vary, Brand said.\n"Sometimes it's appropriate, sometimes it's not," he said. "It really depends on what the issues are."\nThough Brand declined comment on Sampson's hiring or his infractions case, he said he could speak "generally" about the situation at one of his "favorite universities," IU.\n"That institution and that board and president had to think through whether ... the infractions, which are pending or already in effect, indicate a serious history or pattern of behavior or whether it's a one-time issue," said Brand, who was IU's president when longtime coach Bob Knight was fired in 2000. "There are risks involved when you do that, and not all risks are bad."\nCBS college basketball analyst and former Big Ten basketball player Clark Kellogg echoed Brand's response.\n"Until you get through that process you don't know \nexactly how it's going to come about and what the end result is going to be," Kellogg said. "Everything is somewhat of a risk. Sometimes there's more risk than other times. I'm sure (IU Director of Athletics) Rick Greenspan has taken a look and talked about it."\nThere should be concern "any time you have that hanging over your head," he said.\nDuring the press conference Wednesday, both Greenspan and IU President Adam Herbert said they personally investigated Sampson's potential violations at Oklahoma.\nThough Kellogg said he does not follow the college coaching hot stove, he said he was pleased by Greenspan's decision to hire Sampson.\n"I think he's a terrific coach and a really good guy based on my dealings with him," he said. "If you're talking about getting an experienced coach that has a proven track record -- that values the things that should be valued -- I think they got a good guy."\nKellogg said he thought the hiring of Sampson, a Lumbee Native American, could help ease some racial overtones he believed existed when former coach Mike Davis was at IU.\n"I think a big part of what was uncomfortable for Mike was that he was the guy following Bob Knight, and that's always difficult no matter what color you are," he said. "That being said, I think if Kelvin Sampson is able to handle it the way I think he can, then most folks will be fine with him"