I sincerely hope that universities across the country have learned a valuable lesson from the Indiana Hoosiers and the sanctions that were issued against their athletics department and against former coach Kelvin Sampson.
Now that the NCAA has handed down a decision that puts IU on probation for three years and keeps Sampson out of NCAA coaching for at least five years, it is time to move on.
But it won't be easy for IU, which was a top ten men's team at one point last season. The Hoosiers lost all but two of their players, two of their top recruits, and have started this season 2-2 including two losses by at least thirty points in the last two evenings of the Maui Invitational. The rest of the way won't be easy either as the Hoosiers are projected to continue to struggle before they improve within the next few years.
Sampson, now an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks is to blame for this fiasco. His lack of concern for the rules and his negligence make him single-handedly responsible for the struggles that IU now faces. IU was the laughing stock of Maui because Sampson didn't follow the rules and the program collapsed around him.
It is fair that Sampson will be out of college basketball for five years, but I sincerely hope that this mess will serve as a wake up call to other schools. I hope the National Champion Kansas Jayhawks and the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels are aware that a perennial powerhouse can become a joke overnight because of the activities of one man. I hope they have learned from IU's mistake.
Please athletic departments across the country, do your program, your student body and your alumni a favor. Monitor your coaches and know who you're hiring. And above all, when these five years are up, refrain from even interviewing Kelvin Sampson.
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