4 days left in internal Sampson investigation; McRobbie praises Greenspan for compliance

IU President Michael McRobbie praised IU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan at a Friday press conference for the athletic department’s efforts in uncovering infractions committed by IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson and members of his coaching staff.\n“I would like to note that we have arrived at this painful situation because the athletics director and his compliance staff did their job,” McRobbie said. “They diligently monitored recruiting operations within the men’s basketball program and quickly and fully reported the irregularities they found.” \nThe NCAA sent IU a list of allegations against Sampson and the IU program for Sampson’s violation of sanctions he received for making impermissible phone calls when he was the head coach at Oklahoma University. The sanctions followed Sampson to IU.\nAn intern in the athletics department discovered a strange pattern of recruiting calls during a routine auditing process. The discovery launched an internal investigation by the University and its legal counsel, Indianapolis-based law firm Ice Miller.\n“The system Indiana University has established for enforcing compliance worked, and I take confidence in that,” McRobbie said.\nFans and media have criticized Greenspan for his involvement in hiring Sampson in March 2006. Greenspan has been successful in upgrading athletic facilities and hired beloved former football coach Terry Hoeppner, but it seems that the director of athletics will be judged by fans for Sampson’s hiring.\nMcRobbie’s endorsement of Greenspan seemingly ended any speculation that Greenspan could lose his job. Greenspan hired Sampson while the coach was being investigated by the NCAA. The decision to hire a coach under NCAA investigation drew criticism, but Greenspan defended Sampson, saying the program would follow all NCAA rules. \nBeyond his endorsement, McRobbie appointed Greenspan to head an investigation into the latest NCAA report. Greenspan has seven days to respond to McRobbie and offer recommendations on what to do with Sampson. \n“I am announcing that I have directed the athletics director to oversee an immediate investigation of these new allegations and make an assessment as to whether they are credible and accurate,” McRobbie said.\nIU Athletics spokesman J.D. Campbell said Greenspan is not ready to comment on the investigation, saying he will discuss the situation once a conclusion is reached.\nSampson also would not discuss the investigation, saying he is focusing on preparing the team for its remaining games.\n“I don’t have any real comments on that stuff,” Sampson said after IU’s win against Michigan State. “We are practicing tomorrow at three and we will get ready for Purdue. That will be a big game for us on Tuesday.”