Is Rick Greenspan serious in hiring Kelvin Sampson?
What the hell is wrong with IU these days? I cannot believe ol' Rick Greenspan's choice for head of the basketball team that is so dear to all our hearts. I have an idea: let's hire someone plagued with problems and who, in my eyes, is not the caliber coach I feel we were all looking for. I myself would have liked to see Marquette coach Tom Crean here, but I never imagined Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson. Isn't it time we do to ol' Rick what Myles Brand did to Bob Knight (Indiana's lowest point)? I am personally in favor of firing Greenspan. Jason HarperSenior
Sampson will have positive effect on team, recruit good talent
I am very proud of Hoosier Nation today. After an ESPN article stating that Rick Greenspan is "in the hottest hot seat" of all time commented on the hiring of Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, I simply had to disagree. I have been on no forums or read any articles that read anything negative about Sampson. I am very excited and I feel like other Hoosiers should be as well. Sampson is a proven winner and a very respectable coach. Anything negative has been taken out of context. Most of OU's NCAA troubles are with their football program. The biggest problem their basketball program has had is too many phone calls. While unfortunate, this problem is not that big of a deal. I feel that Coach Sampson will have a positive effect on the team, keeping many current players and bringing the ability to recruit terrific talent. I am both excited and overjoyed at this unexpected hiring and it is time for Hoosier Nation to rally around our new coach and our team. Ryan RisseBloomington
Sampson's $10.5M contract disheartening to grad students with slash health insurance
How ironic: graduate students protest cuts in their health insurance on the same day that Kelvin Sampson, the new basketball coach, just inked a $10.5 million, seven-year contract with IU. This sickens me almost beyond words. I get it: basketball and other collegiate sports are an important part of the IU tradition. Coaching a collegiate sports team takes talent and hard work, and coaches should be compensated accordingly. Don't get me wrong: having once been a tutor for student-athletes, it is safe to say that I support IU athletics. And I don't find Sampson's salary appalling, per se. What I find disgusting is the fact that IU is willing to give this amount of money to a coach but is unwilling to protect the health of its graduate student employees. After all, isn't excellence in education and research part of the IU tradition, as well? Graduate students are deeply involved in this tradition, as we work with the undergraduate population in a myriad of ways. Our health is as important as a championship-winning basketball team. We need affordable health insurance for ourselves and our families, and we need dental coverage. I have one message for the trustees of this supposedly stellar institution: shame, shame, SHAME on you! Amy RubensAssociate instructor
Graduate Employee Organization
Sampson will need to rejuvenate team, prove himself to fans
I think my reaction to the announcement of IU's new basketball coach was a lot like everyone else's: Kelvin Sampson? Who is this guy? I suppose he's a good choice, but he's virtually unknown to people like me who almost exclusively follow the big ten and the big east. However, unlike the asshole fans here I'm giving him a chance. I don't expect a complete turnaround in a year or even two, but if he can get us to play defense and rebound I'll be ecstatic. IU men's basketball is the flagship of our school. We define ourselves by it; we bleed for cream and crimson. And as fans with a new program being implemented we need to give this new guy the benefit of the doubt. He needs a fresh slate. It can't be Bobby Knight 2.0 or Mike Davis 2.0, it's Kelvin's turn to show us what he can do. Hopefully he can rejuvenate our program and recruit the best Indiana players, despite the sanctions placed on him at Oklahoma. We need IU to be the powerhouse it once was. I know I'll be watching and cheering with a glass positive attitude. Libby SpencerFreshman
After hiring Sampson, Davis might seem the better choice
At a time when the IU basketball coaching decision should have been unbelievably clean with little risk we now have a coach with possible recruiting violations, awful graduation stats and no championships. An opportunity to raise the bar in quality, pride and scholarship has just been wasted. I predict we will be looking back on the Mike Davis era as the good old days. Amazing. Donald SnyderFort Wayne
Knight fans must join with other fans and unite IU base
Amen! Finally an opinion on the IU hiring of Kelvin Sampson that I agree with ("Get on the bus or just stay home," IDS Thursday). I have been saddened the past six seasons of all the negativity around the basketball program. I was at IU when they won their last championship under Bob Knight and am still a big fan of him. But what makes me different from the "Knighties," as you put it, is that I agreed with the IU administration that it was time that Knight left. I am also extremely happy that Rick Greenspan did not hire a former Knight player. All that would have done is keep the division between the "Knighties" and the rest of the IU fan base. I was truly shocked when it was announced that Kelvin Sampson was the new IU coach. But, I was genuinely happy with the decision. IU has gotten a heck of a coach and one that I think can unite the fan base and hopefully the Knighties. Bill DubaAlumnus
Greenspan blew the chance to hire an effective coach
Has Greenspan totally lost his mind? Apparently so. His decision to hire Kelvin Sampson with his shady past concerning recruiting and graduation rates, and his pitiful record of 11 wins and 12 loses in the NCAA Tournament leads one to question Greenspan's sanity. Due to the tragedy of Myles Brand's successful quest to impose his anti-intercollegiate sports agenda on IU, disguised by the attacks on and subsequent firing of Bob Knight, IU's basketball program has suffered disheartening damage. Greenspan had the opportunity to turn the program around and start to heal the wounds caused by Brand's irresponsible actions. Sadly, in part because he steadfastly refused to contact many former IU players, he blew the chance. Ray WhartonBowling Green, Ky.
Sampson an inspired coach for IU team in need of help
I feel it now a good time to congratulate the IU administration in making a terrific hire in Kelvin Sampson as the new men's basketball coach. He will be a perfect fit for the Big Ten conference and will undoubtedly improve IU's status in recruiting and national rank. The only issue that remains is that of keeping Robert Vaden and DJ White. I wrote a letter before commemorating Vaden and White for leaving, because I felt IU fans needed to understand the repercussions of firing a well liked coach amongst his peers. Well, I still feel they have a right to leave, and I'm not going to beg, but I certainly feel this could be a terrific opportunity for Vaden and White, and I think they should consider the downsides of transferring; sitting out for an entire year, and even more so having to acclimate to a new atmosphere (not like this one was quite welcoming.) That's my stance, and let's just see how Sampson does, I know I'm rooting for him-the only question is whether the rest of Indiana will. Rob SchneiderBloomington
Alumnus to cancel endowment after Sampson chosen as coach
What are thinking about when we hire a coach with so many violations pending? I personally am so upset with our athletics department for a school our size. I am definitely cancelling my endowment to the school because we don't seem to listen to the general public when it comes to attracting somebody with IU connections. I think what we have just done is pitiful. Fred ShultzLeesburg, Fla.
Sampson a 'safe choice' who won't offend, but won't inspire
The athletics director and president of IU have taken no chances and made the safe choice. No group can dislike or be unhappy with Kelvin Sampson. He is personable, he is African-American and he has a respectable coaching record. Is he the best candidate available for the IU job? It is hard to picture a scenario in which he was the best coach they could attract to Bloomington. Oklahoma was tired of him and his tournament record is lackluster at best without going in to the recruiting violations. You have the chance to get a young up and coming coach that can build the program for the next 15 years and this is your best effort? There were three or four outstanding young coaches available and it does not appear that any of them were interviewed. This might have been the opportunity to get a person like Texas A&M's Billy Gillespie, who would have been a perfect fit for IU. Maybe they just don't get it. There will be young, high quality coaches available in five years when this coaches time is up and hopefully there will be a new athletics director willing to take a chance on one of them. Clif BeaneAlumnus
