Loopholes

As someone who has called Indiana University my home for the last eight years I must admit that I have a great bit of interest in the school’s men’s basketball team. This used to be a basketball powerhouse known for its basketball greatness. This was the home of Bobby Knight for many years and the school has won a few national championships. Basketball here isn’t just a sport; for many it’s a religion.

All eyes have been on the basketball program as of late. Our last coach, Mike Davis, was the immediate successor to Bobby Knight. The deck seemed stacked against Davis from day 1. The Hoosiers that seem to bleed cream and crimson just didn’t seem to accept a coach that wasn’t Knight. Even though Davis had some early successes, including an appearance in the national championship game, the pressure was too much. During this past season Davis announced his resignation at the end of the 2005-2006 season.

Everyone wondered who would be the man to replace Davis. This past March it was announced that the coach from the University of Oklahoma, Kelvin Sampson, would be the next basketball coach.

The question was then asked, “Is this a good move?”

This is because Sampson brings with him the possibility of NCAA sanctions due to breaking recruitment rules. While Indiana University recently revealed that they had the option of canceling Sampson’s contract upon hearing what the NCAA sanctions were, many believed that they would not fire who they believed to be IU’s next great coach.

Yesterday those sanctions were handed down. Sampson is not allowed to recruit any potential players off of the IU campus and he is not allowed to telephone any possible recruits. Indiana University, who has not received an NCAA sanction since 1960, announced yesterday that this would not impact his contract.

Many would wonder why. The reason is that they language of the NCAA ruling has the potential for a great many loopholes. Sampson can’t recruit players off campus, but there is no reason that they can’t be brought to campus to talk to the coach. Sampson can’t call players, but he can e-mail or text message them asking them to call him on the basketball program’s 800-number. Or, for that matter, an assistant coach can call the recruit and then hand the phone over to Sampson.

While I’m a big supporter of IU basketball, and I am hopeful that Sampson will return the basketball to national greatness, does a manipulation of these NCAA sanctions take away the spirit of the punishment and possibly tarnish Sampson’s reputation further? And in turn, could it possibly harm the reputation of IU and its basketball program?