Indiana 5 Major Violations
That guy up there, Sampson, is a real piece of work. NCAA nailed their @sses to the wall.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Updated: February 14, 8:36 PM ET
NCAA lists 5 major violations; IU AD 'profoundly disappointed'
ESPN.com news services
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Kelvin Sampson's future at Indiana was in doubt Wednesday following the release of an NCAA report that says he committed five "major" violations.
According to the report released Wednesday, the NCAA listed five major violations against Sampson, saying he gave "false or misleading information" to investigators.
The allegations stem from a phone-call scandal that occurred while Sampson was still under recruiting restrictions following a similar episode at Oklahoma.
Sampson "failed to deport himself ... with the generally recognized high standard of honesty" and "failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance within the men's basketball program," according to the report.
Athletic director Rick Greenspan promised the university would cooperate with all NCAA requests, adding that these are "allegations" and that he believes in due process.
"It's regrettable, to say the least, that we are in this position, in regards to these allegations," Greenspan said during a late-afternoon news conference. "I personally and professionally am profoundly disappointed that there is even a hint of inappropriate behavior."
Sampson responded by reading a statement after Indiana's 68-66 loss to Wisconsin (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) on Wednesday night.
"The allegations that I knowingly acted contrary to the sanctions that occurred while I was at Oklahoma are not true," he said. "I have never intentionally provided false or misleading information to the NCAA. I intend to work within the NCAA process on this matter, and I look forward to my opportunity to do so."
He said he would not comment further until after an NCAA hearing in June. Sampson repeatedly refused to answer additional questions.
Greenspan said he spoke with Sampson for about 90 minutes on Tuesday night and spoke to him again Wednesday morning. "I believe coach Sampson understands my perspective on this," Greenspan said. "I've shared that consistently and regularly with him. ... I think he understands the significant implications of this. These are not allegations that are brought forward lightly, or seen in a casual way or frivolous way." Before Sampson coached Wednesday night's game, Greenspan said, "I expect him to be there and coaching our team."
When asked whether he expected Sampson to be the Hoosiers' coach beyond the Wisconsin game, Greenspan said, "I expect him to coach in the foreseeable future. I'll let you editorialize ... on what the foresseable future means. What that means to me is, we have work to do. ... We're going to be expedient. We're also not going to rush to judgment."
On Wednesday, following the release of the NCAA report, Greenspan would not say whether the school planned to impose additional sanctions but acknowledged Sampson's contract contains a clause in which he could be fired for cause if the NCAA rules Sampson committed major violations.
According to the contract signed in April 2006, Indiana pays Sampson an annual base salary of $500,000. With five years left on the deal, the cost could reach at least $2.5 million.
Sampson's deal includes termination clauses for violations of university or NCAA rules that eliminate the payments. Attorneys, however, have differing views on whether the accusations, which include providing false or misleading information to investigators, would allow Indiana to fire Sampson with cause and get off the financial hook.
Greenspan acknowledged Wednesday these are only allegations since the NCAA has not yet made a ruling, and the distinction could be important.
"It [the contract] talks about significant, intentional or repetitive violations, so the question becomes when does it become a violation?" said Indianapolis attorney Stephen Backer, a former trustee at Indiana who works in contractual law. "That's the issue. I'm sure that's what they're meeting about today."
University spokesman Larry MacIntyre confirmed Thursday that president Michael McRobbie was still consulting with the school's lawyers, trustees and administrators. MacIntyre would not provide details on those discussions but acknowledged both sides have to abide by the rules set forth in the contract.
MacIntyre said Dorothy Frapwell, the university's counsel, declined to discuss Sampson's contract.
Milton Thompson, also an Indianapolis attorney, believes there's another caveat, too.
While he contends Indiana's report and Sampson's acceptance of the school's penalties in October amount to an admission of significant and repetitive violations, the coach may still have legal protection because he wasn't fired four months ago.
"There can always be a liability issue," Thompson said. "If they accepted the sanctions and didn't fire him then, that may be an area he could pursue."
Continued below: