Hoosiers on trial

By Chris Engel\nccengel@indiana.edu\nNearly a year after the initial self-investigation into alleged impermissible phone calls made by the men’s basketball staff, the University and former coach Kelvin Sampson will defend themselves in front of the NCAA Committee on Infractions in Seattle Friday and Saturday.\nWhile the University has admitted to wrongdoing, something Sampson has not done, IU will try to convince the NCAA that the self-imposed punishments are sufficient for the infractions committed.\nThe series of events that have led to Seattle began in July 2007 when an intern in the compliance department discovered irregularities in the recruiting phone logs submitted by the men’s basketball coaching staff. Those irregularities caused the University Athletic Department to launch an internal investigation into the recruiting practices.\nAfter two investigations – one by the University and another by the NCAA – the men’s basketball program has been charged with four major violations stemming from violations of the program’s probation that followed Sampson when he came to IU from Oklahoma in the spring of 2006.\nThe two-day hearing will determine the final penalties both the University and Sampson will face. IU has taken a scholarship away for the 2009-2010 season and has limited the number of recruiting calls and visits by the current coaching staff led by new head coach Tom Crean. The NCAA can levy additional punishments as they see necessary. \nThe final ruling should be released four to six weeks after the hearing this weekend.\nSampson is no longer the coach of the Hoosiers and is currently an assistant coach for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. “I am personally and professionally and profoundly disappointed that there is even a hint of inappropriate behavior,” IU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan said in a Feb. 13 press conference, just days before Sampson agreed to a buyout from the University.\nSampson may have the most to lose as the NCAA could put a “show cause” on the former coach. This would force any NCAA institution prove to the NCAA that Sampson would not violate any rules if he were hired in the future. This would, in effect, keep him from coaching in the NCAA in the foreseeable future.\nSampson has maintained his innocence, most recently in a letter to the NCAA obtained by www.cbssportsline.com.\n“When I arrived at Indiana University, I hired an experienced staff and made my expectation of strict compliance with NCAA rules and with the restrictions imposed upon our staff very clear,” Sampson wrote in the letter to the NCAA. “I endorsed and cooperated fully with the monitoring systems set in place by Indiana’s athletics compliance staff.”\nSampson further wrote that he looks forward to proving that he did not intentionally commit any infractions as coach of the Hoosiers.\n“As difficult as this process and experience has been for me, I do, given the circumstances, look forward to the opportunity to appear before you and, with the assistance of my counsel, to attempt to ensure that you have all of the information available on the relevant matters,” Sampson wrote.