Sampson's "Major" Infraction
Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 1:19 pm--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on Tue, May. 30, 2006
What constitutes a major infraction?
WENDELL BARNHOUSE
In My Opinion
Perhaps the jurors in the Enron trial have a future with the NCAA or in college sports administration. Their crystal-clear choice of guilt over innocence could be a valuable resource on the campus scene.
The same day that Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling went down for the (25 of 34) counts, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions announced its findings in the investigation involving Oklahoma and Kelvin Sampson, its former basketball coach.
The NCAA basically accepted OU's self-imposed penalties. Sampson, now the coach at Indiana, was harshly criticized by the COI.
"[Sampson] created and encouraged an atmosphere among his staff of deliberate noncompliance, rationalizing the violations as being a result of 'prioritizing' rules,'" committee chairman Thomas Yeager said in the official NCAA news release.
Nothing ambiguous with that statement. The rest of the Sampson situation, though, is colored with various shades of gray.
The COI punished Sampson by prohibiting him from making calls to recruits or recruiting off-campus for the next year. Recruiting phone calls was his transgression at Oklahoma. Over four years, the Sooners' staff made 577 impermissible phone calls to prospective players; Sampson made 233 of those calls.
The COI noted Sampson's "complete disregard" for NCAA rules. Sampson's defense when testifying before the committee was that his staff was simply working hard, and he believed violating the phone rules was not a major infraction.
Five-hundred and seventy-seven "minor" infractions would seem to add up to a "major" infraction. You get caught for speeding once or twice, OK. You speed 577 times, you'll be riding a bike to work (considering gas prices, that might not be considered punishment).
Sampson's new contract with Indiana called for his dismissal if he was found guilty of "major" infractions in the case against OU.
"Obviously, we anticipated some type of sanction," Indiana trustee Patrick Shoulders said. "And this one seems to fit these minor infractions."
Indiana didn't have much choice but to circle its wagons. Sampson has taken over a program still fractured by Bob Knight's dismissal six years ago.
No matter what Sampson's seven-year, more than a million dollars a year contract says, Indiana couldn't exactly dismiss Sampson now. After Mike Davis' forced resignation, Hoosiers athletic director Rick Greenspan kept swinging and missing during the job search. Sampson was a surprise hire.
During the four-year phonathon in Norman, Sampson served a year as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. That year, 2003, he was involved with an ethics summit as the NABC responded to a spate of college basketball scandals.
Sampson has long been regarded as an honorable coach. Now it's up to Sampson to prove he can live up to that reputation and live down his self-described mistakes. What will be interesting is how often he jumps through the loopholes in the NCAA rule book.
Sampson can neither recruit off-campus nor call recruits. Sampson can still contact recruits by text message, e-mail or regular mail.
Recruits can call Sampson, but he can't call them. His assistants can call recruits and ask them to call Sampson. Sampson can talk to recruits when they make recruiting visits to Bloomington, Ind. Sampson can call a recruit's AAU and/or high school coach.
Yeager said he expects Sampson and Indiana to follow the "spirit" of the committee's sanctions.
Lay and Skilling tried to talk and maneuver their way out of prison. Sampson is under house arrest, and it's unclear if the doors are actually locked.
I wonder what the 12 Enron jurors would make of that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wendell Barnhouse, 817-390-7760 [email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006 Star-Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.dfw.com
Posted on Tue, May. 30, 2006
What constitutes a major infraction?
WENDELL BARNHOUSE
In My Opinion
Perhaps the jurors in the Enron trial have a future with the NCAA or in college sports administration. Their crystal-clear choice of guilt over innocence could be a valuable resource on the campus scene.
The same day that Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling went down for the (25 of 34) counts, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions announced its findings in the investigation involving Oklahoma and Kelvin Sampson, its former basketball coach.
The NCAA basically accepted OU's self-imposed penalties. Sampson, now the coach at Indiana, was harshly criticized by the COI.
"[Sampson] created and encouraged an atmosphere among his staff of deliberate noncompliance, rationalizing the violations as being a result of 'prioritizing' rules,'" committee chairman Thomas Yeager said in the official NCAA news release.
Nothing ambiguous with that statement. The rest of the Sampson situation, though, is colored with various shades of gray.
The COI punished Sampson by prohibiting him from making calls to recruits or recruiting off-campus for the next year. Recruiting phone calls was his transgression at Oklahoma. Over four years, the Sooners' staff made 577 impermissible phone calls to prospective players; Sampson made 233 of those calls.
The COI noted Sampson's "complete disregard" for NCAA rules. Sampson's defense when testifying before the committee was that his staff was simply working hard, and he believed violating the phone rules was not a major infraction.
Five-hundred and seventy-seven "minor" infractions would seem to add up to a "major" infraction. You get caught for speeding once or twice, OK. You speed 577 times, you'll be riding a bike to work (considering gas prices, that might not be considered punishment).
Sampson's new contract with Indiana called for his dismissal if he was found guilty of "major" infractions in the case against OU.
"Obviously, we anticipated some type of sanction," Indiana trustee Patrick Shoulders said. "And this one seems to fit these minor infractions."
Indiana didn't have much choice but to circle its wagons. Sampson has taken over a program still fractured by Bob Knight's dismissal six years ago.
No matter what Sampson's seven-year, more than a million dollars a year contract says, Indiana couldn't exactly dismiss Sampson now. After Mike Davis' forced resignation, Hoosiers athletic director Rick Greenspan kept swinging and missing during the job search. Sampson was a surprise hire.
During the four-year phonathon in Norman, Sampson served a year as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. That year, 2003, he was involved with an ethics summit as the NABC responded to a spate of college basketball scandals.
Sampson has long been regarded as an honorable coach. Now it's up to Sampson to prove he can live up to that reputation and live down his self-described mistakes. What will be interesting is how often he jumps through the loopholes in the NCAA rule book.
Sampson can neither recruit off-campus nor call recruits. Sampson can still contact recruits by text message, e-mail or regular mail.
Recruits can call Sampson, but he can't call them. His assistants can call recruits and ask them to call Sampson. Sampson can talk to recruits when they make recruiting visits to Bloomington, Ind. Sampson can call a recruit's AAU and/or high school coach.
Yeager said he expects Sampson and Indiana to follow the "spirit" of the committee's sanctions.
Lay and Skilling tried to talk and maneuver their way out of prison. Sampson is under house arrest, and it's unclear if the doors are actually locked.
I wonder what the 12 Enron jurors would make of that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wendell Barnhouse, 817-390-7760 [email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006 Star-Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.dfw.com
