With the Roger Clemens/Brian McNamee/Andy Pettite saga unfolding in Washington D.C., a blockbuster trade developing in the NBA, and a U.S. Senator imploring Roger Goddell to provide security for a Patriots’ cameraman, news of Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson being involved (ONCE AGAIN!) for recruiting violations may have flown somewhat under the radar.

But with the recent allegations against Sampson, the question of ‘What is really valued in college athletics?’ is raised.

Sampson came to Indiana University following the resignation of Mike Davis, who coached IU for 5 seasons. In his first full season as head coach, Davis led the Hoosiers to the NCAA title game, where they fell to Juan Dixon and the Maryland Terrapins.

Davis’ remaining seasons saw a decline in the program’s success, and Davis was forced to resign amid pressure from fans and athletic boosters. Davis was known to run a clean program and avoided any NCAA violations and/or sanctions.

Davis’ predecessor at Indiana, the legendary coach Bob Knight also was free of any actual NCAA violations. But Knight was dismissed by the university following a violation of the zero tolerance policy that had been imposed upon the coach by IU president Miles Brand.

It is no secret Knight had a history of controversial actions involving players, officials, and the media. He was certainly an old school coach, who was not afraid to get in a player’s face to make a point. Coach Knight also would not hesitate to speak his mind whenever he felt it was appropriate. However, with all of the controversy that swirled around Coach Knight at Indiana, there was never any mention of him running a dirty program.

You never heard a rumor about recruiting violations involving the Indiana program while Bobby Knight was there. Knight’s players went to class; Coach Knight’s kids earned their degrees and went on to become good citizens. He was one of the best teachers of basketball Naismith’s game has ever seen.

Undoubtedly, Coach Knight had a unique approach to the game, and not every player could handle his methods. Players knew when you went to play for Bobby Knight, it was going to be tough, but you would learn the game of basketball and learn how to be a MAN.

In today’s sensitive, politically-correct world, Knight’s aggressive and, often, intimidating style did not satisfy Indiana’s administration, so he was fired.

Six years later, after the departure of Bobby Knight, Indiana announced the hiring of Sampson, the former Oklahoma coach. The same administration that dispatched Knight knew about Sampson’s previous major rule violations while at Oklahoma, but they still made the decision to hire him, hoping he could return the program to an elite level.

A year and half into his tenure, Sampson has done just that. He reeled in star recruit Eric Gordon, swiping him from Illinois. The team is battling for a Big 10 regular-season championship, and preparing to make a run in the NCAA tournament.

But now, he and members of his staff have been accused of recruiting violations, the same as when he was busted while at Oklahoma. According to the school’s administrators, he also lied to university officials when confronted with the allegations earlier in the season.

It should be interesting to see how the school deals with this issue and what actions, if any, they will take. The allegations made are worthy of serious sanctions from Indiana University…but it is unlikely they will act appropriately…the basketball team IS in position to have a special season.

Apparently, this is what major college athletics has now become. A molder of men like Bobby Knight who ran a squeaky clean program is fired, while a blatant cheater is given multiple chances and continues to disregard the rules.

Just like for players, such as former University of Washington star Jerramy Stevens, if coaches can lead a team to national prominence, they are allowed to get away with any number of offenses. It isn’t fair to those who play the game the way it should be played — by the rules…and it just doesn’t make any sense.

Adam Rosen

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