Fri Feb 22 19:19:19 2008

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Indiana parts ways with Sampson

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Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - Indiana University reached a financial settlement with men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, who announced his resignation Friday in the wake of NCAA accusations of five rules violations, according to a report in the Indianapolis Star.

The settlement -- believed to be $750,000 -- enables the university and Sampson to part ways immediately, with assistant Dan Dakich being named interim coach and taking over the club for the remainder of the season.

Sampson has also agreed not to sue the university.

The Hoosiers, ranked 15th in the nation with a record of 22-4, are one-half game behind Wisconsin and Purdue for the lead in the Big Ten with a conference mark of 11-2.

The NCAA released a list of allegations against the Indiana basketball program on February 13, including impermissible phone calls by Sampson and his staff. Sampson and his staff have been accused of violating telephone recruiting restrictions imposed because of previous violations by Sampson at Oklahoma. The coach was also accused of lying to the school and NCAA investigators.

Last Friday, Indiana president Michael McRobbie announced that the school would conduct its own investigation before making a decision on Sampson's status.

The Hoosiers won important home games against Michigan State and Purdue after the investigation was announced and will play their first game under Dakich on Saturday at Northwestern.

Sampson was in his second season at Indiana after spending 12 years at Oklahoma. The Hoosiers were 21-11 in his first season.

In 25 years as a collegiate head coach, which also includes stints at Washington State and Montana Tech, Sampson has a record of 498-272. He guided Oklahoma to the Final Four in 2002.

The NCAA's original report regarding Sampson was released in October and noted that he and his staff participated in more than 100 impermissible phone calls. The calls were made while Sampson was still on probation by the NCAA for infractions he had while at Oklahoma.

The Committee on Infractions ruled that Sampson and several former coaches would not be permitted to make recruiting phone calls or engage in off-campus recruiting activities from May 25, 2006 through May 24, 2007.

While NCAA rules don't prohibit three-way phone calls, Sampson was not allowed to do so by the collegiate sports governing body. However, Sampson was found to have made multiple telephone calls, done mostly through then assistant coaches Rob Senderoff and Jeff Meyer. Senderoff has since resigned from his position.

Indiana has been given until May 8 to file a formal written response to the NCAA allegations.

The NCAA's Committee on Infractions then will consider the responses during its June 14 meeting in Seattle and decide if the allegations are substantiated and if penalties should be imposed beyond those that the university might impose on itself.