But when the media was given the chance to ask questions, the first question asked was not about FreeD technology, Bluetooth beacons or pyrotechnics.
It was about the citations sophomore Emmitt Holt and freshman Thomas Bryant received Saturday morning for illegal possession of alcohol.
“We’re giving this the serious and sober attention that it deserves,” Glass said. “It’s taken very seriously. We’ll have more to say on that later.”
Glass said that the incident coincidentally occurred the weekend before IU Athletics’ all-staff meeting with every head coach and their staffs.
Included in the meeting was IU President Michael McRobbie.
“There were probably three or four hundred people in here,” Glass said, referring to Henke Hall, where the all-staff meeting took place Tuesday. “It was helpful that we had so quickly an opportunity to express both the president’s perspective and my perspective on our expectations.”
When asked about the validity of a claim that McRobbie read the riot act to the athletic department Tuesday, Glass responded contritely.
“Correct,” he said.
McRobbie began his speech to the athletic department with a paleobotany discovery made by IU’s Department of Geological Sciences, in which IU’s Dr. David Dilcher identified the earliest form of flowering plant life on earth.
“This is the sort of world-class achievement by our researchers with which I want to see Indiana University associated,” McRobbie said.“What I do not want to see is any more stories of repeated student misbehavior.”
The repeated misbehavior that the president is referring to is the most recent basketball incident, as well as several other incidents since 2010.
“They embarrass the university, they embarrass all of you in Athletics, and they are a complete distraction from our primary role as an educational institution,” McRobbie said. “This misbehavior simply has to stop.”
The two most recent basketball dismissals — Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Devin Davis — were discovered with less than 30 grams of marijuana.
The discovery came after a call was made about an odor coming from Hickory Hall, a residence hall on campus.
Davis was previously involved in an accident in which he suffered a serious head injury, after being hit by former teammate Holt.
Both athletes had blood alcohol levels above 0.02, the minimum for minors.
Mosquera-Perea was also involved with an OWI arrest before his second arrest in May.
The most recent dismissal from the football team was defensive back Antonio Allen, who was arrested outside of Memorial Stadium June 16 after police found a Colt .4 handgun, 47 grams of cocaine and 13 grams of heroine in his off-campus apartment.
Allen was dismissed from the team June 17.
“I have stressed repeatedly that our student-athletes are first and foremost students!” McRobbie said. “Our ultimate goal is to help them obtain a degree that will prepare them for career and life success. As Hoosiers, we want to win—but win the right way, and with student-athletes we can be proud of.”
At the press conference, the conversation about the citations ended when Glass was asked if presenting football fan experience enhancements while basketball punishments are pending would hurt the IU brand.
“I think that’s fairly self-evident,” Glass said. “I won’t have any comments on that really until we have a concluding comment about the situation.”
McRobbie had already answered the question Tuesday, though.
“As I have said to this group on numerous occasions, the love of sport must never sacrifice integrity,” he said.
***
Wednesday was also the first opportunity the media had to ask Glass about the specifics of the Allen case.
Glass expressed confidence that the incident was isolated with no other IU athletes involved.
“We took a comprehensive review of where that all is across the whole team,” Glass said. “I think that we’re confident to state, as (IU Coach Kevin Wilson) did, that that is an isolated incident.”
Glass also confirmed Allen was living in a single apartment when the drugs were discovered in his home.
He affirmed that he has confidence in Wilson’s contract and the direction of the program.
“I gave Kevin a seven-year contract for a reason,” Glass said. “I think IU football was a battleship to turn around. I didn’t want that breathing down his neck, and we needed to send a signal that we were going to dig in and let somebody have a really good try at it.”
Wilson is entering his fifth year of the seven originally on his contract, and the Hoosiers have not reached a bowl, leading many to believe the head coach is on the hot seat this season.
Glass denied those suspicions and declined to set any benchmark guidelines that Wilson should reach this season.
“I don’t like to give a litmus test up front or pre-declare what it’s going to take for any of our coaches to continue,” Glass said. “I think that’s sort of the easy way out and putting things on automatic pilot.”
Like the team, Glass is awaiting this season’s results with optimism. He did not speak with a discouraged tone about the future of IU Athletics.
“I think there are reasons to be optimistic,” Glass said. “We’ll find out together.”
