Senderoff resigns amidst controversy

The University confirmed Tuesday that IU men’s basketball assistant coach Rob Senderoff resigned. \nAn IU Athletics Department Media Relations statement released Tuesday contradicted media reports saying Senderoff was told last Friday by the University he had three days to resign. \nIU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan continually asserted in a teleconference Tuesday that Senderoff resigned on his own, without pressure from the University.\n“Rob has decided that it is in his interest and in the University’s best interest that he resign from the University and made it effective immediately,” Greenspan said when asked about the nature of the resignation.\nThe announcement came on the same day as the release of a report from Indianapolis law firm Ice Miller outlining NCAA violations committed by Senderoff and other members of the men’s basketball staff.\nSenderoff did not return calls asking for comment by press time.\nAccording to the report, Senderoff conducted 10 to 12 impermissible three-way calls, connecting phone calls from recruits to Sampson. The discrepancy with the number of calls is because two calls were likely dropped calls. Additionally, Senderoff made 101 impermissible phone calls, 99 of which violated the terms of the previous sanctions set in place because of impermissible phone calls by Sampson and his staff at Oklahoma. Thirty-four of the 101 impermissible phone calls also violated NCAA guidelines.\nSenderoff’s likely replacement will be current Director of Basketball Operations Dan Dakich, who spent the last 10 years as head coach for Bowling Green State University after serving 12 seasons as an assistant coach at IU for former coach Bob Knight.\n“It is my expectation that Dan will fill that role with the self-imposed sanctions that will be carried over from Senderoff,” Greenspan said. “We would not put one of our other assistant coaches into that position and then have Dan have the recruiting opportunities.”\nSampson hired Senderoff on May 1, 2006, just after taking the head coaching position from Mike Davis. Sampson said he hired Senderoff for his recruiting ability and his potential to be a successful head coach down the road.\n“When I took the position, I wanted to hire a young guy who had great energy and impeccable character, but someone who also knew this area,” Sampson said in a press release announcing Senderoff’s hiring. “I think Rob is going to be a great addition to our staff. He’s young, energetic and really good with people. He is going to be an outstanding head coach one of these days.”\nBefore joining the Hoosiers, Senderoff spent four years as an assistant coach for Kent State after jobs with Towson, Yale, Fordham and Miami University of Ohio. Senderoff was popular during his time at Kent State, Alan Ashby, the university’s director of Athletic Communications, said.\n“That (he would resign) would be unfortunate,” Ashby said Monday. “He was very well-liked here.”\nSenderoff helped coach front-court players during the season, but Sampson heavily relied on Senderoff’s ability to recruit. Senderoff was influential in making contact on the East Coast with several high-profile recruits. Most notably, Senderoff helped secure the commitment of Devin Ebanks, the No. 13 player for the class of 2008, according to recruiting service www.rivals.com. \nJustin Young, Rivals.com national basketball recruiting analyst, said Senderoff played a pivotal role in getting a foothold in the fertile East Coast recruiting ground.\n“He was influential, in that he laid the groundwork for Devin Ebanks, Kevin Jones and some of the top players in 2009 like (Lance) Stephenson,” Young said. “He helped start a pipeline from New York to Indiana.”\nYoung added, however, that in the big picture, the head coach will have to close the deal on any potential recruits.\n“Senderoff opened the door to the recruits,” he said. “They had a chance to walk in the house and sit on the couch to see how things are at IU. Now that the recruits are familiar with IU, Sampson will have to convince them to come to IU.”\nThough recruits developed a relationship with Senderoff, Young said as a program, IU has a lot to offer a potential recruit.\n“IU is a Top 5 program in terms of tradition,” Young said. “When you think college basketball, you think Indiana. That’s the type of thing that ultimately speaks more volume to a recruit than an assistant coach. It does, however, make parents and other adults advising the players wonder how this affects the future.”\n-Staff writer Michael Sanserino contributed to this report.