Colleges

Sooner sanctions could give IU an out on coach

By TIMES STAFF WRITER
Published May 9, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana University would not have to pay any penalty to new basketball coach Kelvin Sampson if the school were to fire him because of NCAA sanctions stemming from recruiting violations while he was at Oklahoma.

The contract Sampson signed April 20 says Indiana "may take further action, up to and including termination" if the NCAA "imposes more significant penalties or sanctions than the University of Oklahoma's self-imposed sanctions."

The Indianapolis Star reported about the final contract on its Web site Monday, saying it obtained the contract through a public records request.

The provision was not included in the agreement Sampson signed when Indiana decided in March to hire him to succeed Mike Davis.

Since accepting the Indiana job, Sampson has admitted making "mistakes" while at Oklahoma.

The NCAA infractions committee on April 21 heard from Oklahoma officials about more than 550 impermissible calls made between 2000 and 2004 by Sampson and his assistants. A ruling could come within a month.

Oklahoma's self-imposed sanctions, for 2005-06 and 2006-07, included recruiting restrictions and freezing Sampson's salary at $1.01-million.

Keving Palacios will not return for his senior season because of family concerns in Venezuela, the forward said in a statement.

Junior center Major Wingate was suspended from the team for violating rules and university policy, coach Bruce Pearl said. Pearl did not say how long the suspension would last or if Wingate would miss any games.

USA Basketball picked Washington coach Lorenzo Romar to lead the men's Under-18 team in the qualification tournament for the 2007 world championships.

Key Purdue reserve Cherelle George won't return, part of the fallout from the university's 10-week internal investigation. Purdue self-reported six violations of NCAA regulations to the NCAA and the Big Ten.

Former Southwest Conference rivals Arkansas and Texas will play each other again starting in Austin, Texas in 2008. The teams will meet again at Arkansas in 2009.

Tampa (43-6, 19-2) clinched the regular-season Sunshine State Conference title with a five-run fifth inning in an 11-2 victory over host Saint Leo.

The Florida State men were selected to play in the NCAA East Region tournament, which starts May 18 at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando. The Florida men were named the No. 1 seed in the West Region, May 18-20 in Tucson, Ariz.

The fight over the "12th Man" is over and both Texas A&M and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks will be able to use the phrase. Texas A&M and the Seahawks said they reached a deal settling the university's lawsuit over the nickname for their fans. Neither side admitted fault or liability.

[Last modified May 9, 2006, 00:42:06]