IU Athletic Director Rick Greenspan is “doing what’s best for the (IU) family,” said incoming freshman Evan White in response to Greenspan’s announcement of his plans for resignation at a press conference June 26.
Greenspan resigned shortly after the NCAA furthered existing sanctions against IU regarding former men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, who was found last year to have violated a number of recruiting restrictions. White and other students and faculty shared similar opinions about Greenspan’s decision: it is for the best and will clear the way for a new athletic director who might be able to turn the department around.
The NCAA added a “failure to monitor” charge the same day Greenspan announced his plans for resignation that suggests the University’s monitoring procedures were not adequately applied to Sampson and therefore allowed the cheating to take place.
Murray Sperber, a former IU English and American studies professor and author of seven books on college sports, said any immediate disadvantage of the resignation would be worth it.
“It’s a matter of short-term pain and long-term gain,” Sperber said. “The reputation of the school is way more important than being number one. If you have a scandal, it really hurts.”
While some IU fans may believe Greenspan’s denial that he failed to monitor his coaches is unclear, some say his first mistake was to allow Sampson to be hired in the first place - considering his past at Oklahoma, where he was also accused of cheating.
“I understand giving someone another chance but I don’t think it was a good choice to hire him,” said incoming freshman Nick James.
Sperber was of the same opinion and said hiring someone with Sampson’s reputation and then allowing him to cheat again is proof enough of a failure to monitor.
“It’s been a disaster from day one,” he said. “If you hire somebody with that kind of record, and then not to monitor him, it makes no sense.”
Greenspan’s resignation takes effect in December, and until then, IU will look for his replacement. Sperber said, with a new athletic director, he thinks IU can bounce back and put the allegations behind it.\n“If they take their time and get the right person, they can turn it around,” he said.
