Inside Indiana's Recruiting Violations

by:Corey Robertson12/11/08
As you are probably all aware, the Hoosiers from Indiana University have recently been placed on probation for recruiting violations performed by their previous coach, Kelvin Sampson. With the fan base fearing the worst (double secret probation), they seemed to let out a sigh of relief when it was announced that there would be no further sanctions, other than the self imposed ones they were already acting under. (I think they lose like 1 timeout per game, and can only have lemon lime Gatorade on the bench, rather than superior flavors of Fruit Punch or Riptide Rush)

Most UK fans were glad to see one of our rivals go onto probation, but very few seemed to look into the details of what the recruiting violations actually were. Personally, I thought he just got into trouble for texting his bff Eric. I decided to dig into the ancient texts that are the NCAA Recruiting Bylaws and decipher the exact rules that Mr. Sampson violated. So, what follows is the collection of allegations and by laws that were violated. Use this to be more educated when taunting the opposition on Saturday.

Bylaw 13.1.3.1.2 — Telephone Calls In men's basketball, an institution is permitted to make one telephone call per month to a prospective student-athlete on or after June 15 of the prospective student-athlete's sophomore year in high school through July 31 of the prospective student-athlete's junior year in high school.  An institution is permitted to make two telephone calls per week to a prospective student-athlete beginning August 1 prior to the prospective student-athlete's senior year in high school. Allegation It was reported that from May 7, 2006 through July 17, 2007, that IU assistant coaches Jeff Meyer and Rob Senderoff placed phone calls which were in violation of 13.1.3.1.2 to the following prospective student athletes: Yancey Gates, Evan Turner, Markieff Morriss, Dejuan Blair, Jonathan “Bud” (Tyrone) Mackey, and Robbie Hummel. Sampson, who was under previous sanctions from the NCAA, was in violation for participating in any of these phone calls. Bylaw 13.2.2 (b) — Awards to Prospective Student Athletes Awards to high school, preparatory school or two-year-college athletics teams in the name of an NCAA member institution are prohibited, regardless of the institution's involvement (or lack thereof) in the administration of the award; Allegation It was reported that on June 30, 2006, after attending an Indiana two-day sports camp, prospective student athlete Derek Elston was given at least one (1) drawstring backpack, and at least one (1) Indiana logo t-shirt.His coach told him he was not allowed to accept them and confiscated the gifts, only to give them back to him once they had returned home. Bylaw 13.6.7.7 — Meals on Official Visit The cost of actual meals, not to exceed three per day, on the official visit for a prospective student-athlete and the prospective student-athlete's parents, legal guardian(s), spouse or children need not be included in the $30-per-day entertainment expense.  Meals must be comparable to those provided to student-athletes during the academic year. A reasonable snack (e.g., pizza, hamburger) may be provided in addition to the three meals. Allegation It was reported that on November 8, 2006, while making an official on campus visit, prospective student athlete Eli Holman was taken to Dairy Queen for an afternoon snack. Unable to decide between the chocolate dipped cone and the always popular Dilly Bar, head coach Kelvin Sampson encouraged Holman to have both as his snack. This was ruled by the NCAA ethics committee to be a very excessive and unreasonable snack and in direct violation of bylaw 13.6.7.7. Bylaw 13.11.3.7 — Private Lessons — Women’s Golf and Equestrian An institution's women's golf and equestrian coaches may teach private lessons to a prospective student-athlete in their respective sports. Allegation It was reported on September 5th, 2007, that student athlete Eric Gordon was looking to impress a young co-ed on campus. Head coach Kelvin Sampson suggested that Gordon take the lady horseback riding, and even arranged a private lesson from the school’s equestrian coach. Because equestrian was not the student athlete’s designated sport, this was in direct violation of Bylaw 13.11.3.7. Were she to have given Gordon a private lesson in basketball, because boy did he need them, this would have been perfectly acceptable. I've always thought that most of the rules that are in place for recruiting are over the top, and reading through some of these rules makes me believe that even more.  Was it wrong that Indiana made a couple of extra phone calls?  Yes.  Is it that big of a deal?  Not really.  Did you know that it would be a violation of bylaw 13.1.9.2 for a coach to attend the funeral of a recruit, if the recruit had not signed a letter of intent? You can read all of the bylaws for yourself here and can read all of the allegations that were brought up against the Hoosiers here.

And to all you Hoosiers, next time you’re going to violate some bylaws, man up and make some serious violations. I’m talking straight cash homey. In an envelope.

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