The Washington Times-Herald

Sports

June 30, 2009

NCAA denies Kelvin Sampson appeal

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA is finished with the latest Kelvin Sampson saga.

The NCAA on Tuesday rejected an appeal from the former Indiana basketball coach, who was slapped with five years of potential penalties for taking part in more than 100 impermissible calls to recruits while coaching the Hoosiers.

The NCAA said its infractions committee upheld the violations found in the case, which prompted an overhaul at the storied program and led to Sampson’s departure after just 1 1/2 years. An NCAA spokeswoman said Sampson has used his only appeal, and the case is closed.

Sampson, now an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, is essentially barred from coaching in college until 2013.

The NCAA ruled that Sampson ignored signed compliance agreements with Indiana, ignored the recruiting restrictions he was already under from a similar case at Oklahoma and deliberately lied to infractions committee members.

In his appeal, Sampson claimed the penalty was too harsh, the NCAA misinterpreted evidence and that the infractions committee was biased against him.

The NCAA rejected each claim, saying “it found no basis on which to conclude that the findings of violations were contrary to the evidence.”

Sampson’s new publicist, Chris Capo, said Sampson “will not be making any comment on the recent NCAA ruling.” A Bucks spokesman said “Sampson declined comment on the report.”

Sampson defended himself last September in a statement made through his former publicist, Matt Kramer.

“In no way did I ever hide or withhold information from Indiana University’s compliance department,” the statement said. “I vehemently deny the inference that I made and concealed impermissible calls. The NCAA has never alleged that I initiated any illegal phone calls to recruits while serving as the head coach at Indiana. I always provided Indiana with everything they requested, including all documents and phone records.”

He later acknowledged that he and his staff had made mistakes, though not deliberately.

“I think they were wrong,” he said of the NCAA in January. “They were wrong in every way. If I didn’t think they were wrong, I wouldn’t have appealed.”

The fallout from the case created major changes at Indiana. Sampson’s assistants all left the school, the compliance department was restructured, athletic director Rick Greenspan resigned and new coach Tom Crean has had to rebuild while accepting the school’s self-imposed recruiting penalties.

Indiana hired Sampson away from Oklahoma in March 2006 and signed him to a seven-year contract worth an average of $1.5 million a year, despite knowing that he faced an NCAA investigation into 577 impermissible phone calls that he and his Oklahoma assistant coaches made to recruits.

Months before Sampson even coached his first game at Indiana, the NCAA banned him from calling recruits and visiting them off-campus for one year and determined he deliberately broke its phone call rules while coaching at Oklahoma.

Indiana found in a self review that the impermissable phone calls continued. The school revoked a $500,000 raise due Sampson and one team scholarship for the 2008-09 season, and reported the violations to the NCAA.

In February 2008, an NCAA report accused Sampson of major rules violations and says he and his assistants gave false information to university and NCAA officials. Later that month, Sampson accepted a $750,000 buyout from Indiana and waived his right to sue the university.

The NCAA added a charge of failure to monitor against Indiana last June, and the NCAA placed Indiana on three years of probation in November.

Sampson has said he likely wouldn’t pursue coaching in the NCAA again.

“You never say never,” Sampson told The Associated Press in April. “But I’m really excited about the NBA, and I’m excited about the possibility of becoming a head coach in the NBA one day, maybe. And if it works out, it works out. If it does, it does. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But just being here with the Bucks, being part of this rebuilding, is exciting for me.”

Text Only
Sports
  • Local wrap-up for Wednesday


    North Posey scored four runs to break a 4-4 tie in the top of the sixth inning to defeat Washington, 10-7, in high school baseball at the Sports Complex Monday.

    May 16, 2012

  • Baseball sectional draw out

    Washington’s baseball team opens on the first night of the Class 3A Jasper Sectional, while the Class A event at Loogootee has a similar feel to its softball cousin.

    May 15, 2012

  • Dennis Helms Helms and Gabhart vie for surveyor

    Two local surveyors are asking Daviess County residents to vote for them in Tuesday’s primary election. Current county surveyor, Dennis Helms, is being challenged by Shawn Gabhart.

    May 5, 2012 2 Photos

  • Local wrap-up for Saturday

    Madison Decker took wins in the 800 and 1,600 meters in a triangular girls high school track meet Thursday.

    May 5, 2012

  • Cougars win in walk-off fashion

    Baseball was far from a thing of beauty for North Daviess at Wayne Davies Field Friday, but after everything was done, baseball really didn’t look all that bad.
    The Cougars scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to clip Southwestern Indiana Conference foe White River Valley, 4-3.

    May 5, 2012

  • Arvin pitches shutout in WHS win

    Washington was looking for a baseball hero, and found it Friday at the Sports Complex in the arm and bat of Pat Arvin.

    April 28, 2012

  • Badgers beat IU in Big 10 tournament

    Rob Wilson’s timely shooting put Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan at the head of his class.
    Wilson scored a career-high 30 points, leading the 14th-ranked Badgers past No. 15 Indiana 79-71 in Friday’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

    March 9, 2012

  • Tyler dominates in Carolina's ACC tourney win

    Terrell Stoglin is a good start for Maryland’s rebuilding job.
    He’ll need some help, though.

    March 9, 2012

  • Braves await No. 2 Barr-Reeve at regional

    Barr-Reeve won its first sectional title since 2006 this past Saturday, but the Vikings have had little time to celebrate with the Class A West Washington Regional on the horizon.

    February 16, 2012

  • Area girls have bright short-term and long-term futures

    Some random thoughts as the basketball season winds down, and spring is preparing to be sprung.

    February 16, 2012

Featured Ads
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Poll

Should students who fail IREAD-3 (twice) advance to 4th grade?

Yes
No
There has to be other options?
     View Results
AP Video
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Clicker Ticker
Facebook