College Basketball | Kelvin Sampson's appeal is rejected by NCAA

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA is finished with the latest Kelvin Sampson saga.

The NCAA on Tuesday rejected an appeal from the former Indiana coach, who was given five years of potential penalties for taking part in more than 100 impermissible calls to recruits while coaching the Hoosiers.

The NCAA said its infractions committee upheld the violations found in the case, which prompted an overhaul at the storied program and led to Sampson's departure after 1 ½ seasons. An NCAA spokeswoman said Sampson, 53, has used his only appeal, and the case is closed.

Sampson, an assistant coach for the NBA Milwaukee Bucks, is essentially barred from coaching in college until 2013.

The NCAA ruled Sampson ignored signed compliance agreements with Indiana, ignored the recruiting restrictions he was already under from a similar case at Oklahoma and deliberately lied to infractions-committee members.

In his appeal, Sampson — a former Washington State coach — claimed the penalty was too harsh, the NCAA misinterpreted evidence and that the infractions committee was biased against him.

The NCAA rejected each claim, saying "it found no basis on which to conclude that the findings of violations were contrary to the evidence."

Sampson's publicist, Chris Capo, said Sampson "will not be making any comment on the recent NCAA ruling."

A Bucks spokesman said "Sampson declined comment on the report."

Sampson defended himself in September in a statement made through his former publicist, Matt Kramer.

"In no way did I ever hide or withhold information from Indiana University's compliance department," the statement said. "I vehemently deny the inference that I made and concealed impermissible calls. The NCAA has never alleged that I initiated any illegal phone calls to recruits while serving as the head coach at Indiana. I always provided Indiana with everything they requested, including all documents and phone records."

Sampson later acknowledged he and his staff had made mistakes, though not deliberately.

"I think they were wrong," he said of the NCAA in January. "They were wrong in every way. If I didn't think they were wrong, I wouldn't have appealed."

The fallout from the case created major changes at Indiana. The compliance department was restructured, athletic director Rick Greenspan resigned and Tom Crean was hired as coach.

Indiana hired Sampson, previously at Oklahoma, in March 2006 and signed him to a seven-year contract worth an average of $1.5 million a year.

Notes

• Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on speculation he would leave the Blue Devils to coach the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers if Phil Jackson retires: "Whatever you hear about anything like that, I will never leave Duke until I leave coaching."

• Gene Smith, Ohio State athletic director, has been appointed chairman of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee for 2010-11. Smith will succeed UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, who will be chair for the upcoming season.