Latest violations put Sampson on thin ice

At Hoosier Hysteria last Friday, IU basketball fans had a lot to feel good about. \nCoach Kelvin Sampson announced that freshman center Eli Holman was cleared to play this season. Junior forward DeAndre Thomas weighed in at 298 pounds, about 60 pounds less than he weighed this spring. Freshman guard Eric Gordon shined on Branch McCracken Court, looking like a natural in his IU debut.\nAll that positive energy took a hit Sunday, however, when the IU Athletics Department announced it would punish Sampson and his coaching staff for violating the year-long sanctions imposed by the NCAA for recruiting violations that occurred while Sampson was head coach at Oklahoma. The self-imposed punishment included the loss of a 2008-09 scholarship as well as the negation of a $500,000 raise that Sampson was scheduled to get next year.\nThe punishment arose from an internal investigation that found Sampson had participated in 10 three-way phone calls with recruits, which violated the sanctions. Additionally, Sampson’s staff was cited for making 35 impermissible phone calls.\nHaven’t we been through this before? Didn’t Sampson pledge himself to 100 percent compliance after being slapped on the wrist by the NCAA for 577 extra phone calls as the Sooners’ head coach? Let’s go back and see what Sampson had to say about the May 2006 sanctions:\n“I have learned an invaluable lesson, and I hope that this reinforces to other coaches the importance of every aspect of NCAA compliance. I am fortunate to have a quality, veteran staff who has built and maintained a high standard in all aspects of coaching, particularly in recruiting. My goal is to build a basketball program of which all Indiana fans can be proud – one that is successful on the floor, in the classroom and is active in the community.”\nToday, reading that quote brings to mind a certain Britney Spears hit. Oops, he did it again.\nDuring a Sunday teleconference, Sampson said he was unaware that nine of the 10 calls in contention were three-way calls and asserted that he made no calls to recruits during the sanctioning period. Under the sanctions, recruits could call Sampson, but he could not call them.\nIt’s difficult to say whether the coaching staff knowingly violated the sanctions or just made an honest mistake. In this case, however, the difference between the two is minute. \nThe party that will take the biggest hit from this won’t be next year’s basketball team or Sampson’s wallet, but IU’s reputation as a school that plays and competes by the rules. One thing that IU faithful have been proud of through the years is IU’s NCAA compliance record. No major NCAA violations have been recorded against the team in 47 years. Sampson and his coaching staff have put that reputation in jeopardy.\nThe NCAA will probably weigh in on the new violations in the coming days, but if there is a silver lining in this it’s that the athletics department reported the violations before someone else did. Normally, NCAA President Myles Brand and company are more forgiving when schools police themselves. \nIf the NCAA had to step in on Sampson’s staff a second time, the Sampson era – and any chance IU has this season to contend for a championship – might have ended before it ever really began.