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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 1:57 p.m., Monday, February 25, 2008

CBKB: Sampson buyout calls for NCAA cooperation

By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — Former Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson's separation agreement with the university will not be finalized until March 17.

Sampson signed the deal Friday, but university spokesman Larry MacIntyre said Monday the Hoosiers ex-coach has 21 days to revoke the deal that includes provisions which prevent Sampson from suing the university.

The agreement, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information request, also requires Sampson to continue cooperating with the NCAA investigation and bars him from interfering with any team activities.

"Sampson shall not interfere in any way with the activities of the men's basketball team and shall not discourage the current members from cooperating with the transition to a new head coach, from remaining active members of the team, and from playing to their full potential in all competition events," the agreement states.

Sampson took a $750,000 buyout Friday in return for his immediate resignation after the NCAA accused him of five major rules violations.

The university also included a clause saying that the deal does not, in any way, indicate Sampson believed he had any legitimate legal claims against the school.

Indiana has until May 8 to respond to the NCAA charges and is scheduled to appear before the infractions committee June 14 in Seattle. A decision is expected within 30 days of the hearing, where Sampson has said he looks forward to defending himself. The university could also ask the infractions committee to move the hearing up to April although there is no guarantee the request would be granted.

Sampson took the Indiana job in March 2006 and two months later was penalized by the NCAA for making 577 impermissible phone calls between 2000 and 2004 when he was coaching Oklahoma.

The second wave of charges emerged in October when a university investigation found Sampson and his staff made more than 100 impermissible calls while still under recruiting restrictions and that Sampson participated in at least 10 three-way calls, another violation of the NCAA's punishment.

Athletic director Rick Greenspan called the violations secondary, imposing a one-year extension of the NCAA's recruiting restrictions and pulling a $500,000 raise. The Hoosiers also took away one scholarship for the 2008-09 season.

However, an NCAA report released Feb. 13 by Indiana claimed Sampson provided false and misleading information to investigators from both the university and the NCAA, failed to meet the "generally recognized high standard of honesty" expected in college sports and failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the program.

Sampson has denied intentionally providing investigators with false information, and the university's deal says he is expected to cooperate with the adjudication process.

"Sampson shall fully cooperate with the NCAA process with regard to any NCAA investigation, proceeding or hearing, relating to or indirectly arising out of Sampson's activities as the head men's basketball coach of Indiana University's men's intercollegiate basketball team or the operations or activities of Indiana University's men's intercollegiate basketball team or any coaches or staff members during the period of April 20, 2006 and including the effective date."

Following the NCAA report, university president Michael McRobbie announced IU would take a second look at the charges, setting a Friday deadline for Greenspan to make his recommendation.

Before the recommendation was announced, the two sides negotiated a settlement and Indiana named Dan Dakich, who played and coached under Bob Knight, interim coach for the rest of this season. Dakich won his first game Saturday at Northwestern to keep the Hoosiers in position to contend for their first outright Big Ten title since 1993.

The 12th-ranked Hoosiers host Ohio State on Tuesday night, Dakich's first home game since taking over.