From This Issue: Kelvin Sampson, One Year Later

A year after the end of Kelvin Sampson in Bloomington, one student reflects. Turns out there are some parallels in student government.

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Kelvin Sampson's incidents were going on at the same time as some student government issues at IU.

In the current issue of ESPN The Magazine, there is a small feature on the college basketball department page about the fallout from Kelvin Sampson's situation at Indiana, one year later. You can read it here, although you need to be an Insider. ()

Friday the 13th marked the one-year anniversary of the NCAA allegations against Kelvin Sampson for five major violations involving illicit recruiting practices. Superstition has always had a place in sports, but it's safe to say that the Hoosiers have had to weather more than plain bad luck in recent years.

In 2004, the school experienced its first losing season in over 35 years. After three more lackluster campaigns and the resignation of Mike Davis, Sampson brought new hope to fans that were thirsty for some excitement. In his first season, the squad exceeded expectations and led the team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, he was hard at work—to a fault, some might say—developing one of the top five recruiting classes in the nation. Indiana native and Mr. Basketball in Indiana, Eric Gordon (now of the LA Clippers) was in the fold.

Once the allegations came last season—we had won a record 17 games in Bloomington at the time—we lost nearly all momentum and credibility. With the team floundering in the first round of the post season, even the most die-hard fans were left disheartened.

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• What other concepts and people were affected? An IU fan reflects.

All the while, campus sentiment was growing restless. Everything we held dear seemed to be falling apart around us.

I distinctly remember an editorial in our campus publication, the Indiana Daily Student, which ran amidst the aftermath of a very controversial student body government election. Members of the Kirkwood ticket faced allegations of several major violations involving illicit practices of their own. (Information here.) The parallelism was painful. Instead of taking responsibility for said violations, the leadership of the opposing ticket issued formal statements denying knowledge of any such wrongdoing.

It seemed that on the national stage and among the local community, Indiana University was quickly becoming synonymous with dishonesty. In spring 2008, with Sampson gone and the Kirkwood ticket disqualified, Hoosiers anxiously sought to restore legitimacy and integrity to both the IU Student Association and the Men's Basketball Program.

Respectively, the Big Red ticket and Coach Tom Crean are committed to doing just that. While there is much to learn from the immediate past, the future of Indiana University looks bright indeed.

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