Tom Crean's Big Red Challenge

The first gust of trouble last season came in early October, right before Midnight Madness. As the fan base prepared for the first glimpse of a team many expected to win the Big Ten title, the IU athletic department was scrambling. A student intern in the compliance office had been riffling through paperwork when he discovered records of impermissible three-way phone calls involving basketball recruits, an assistant coach and a cellphone issued to Sampson. On the continuum of NCAA rules violations this was hardly a felony. Except that it was virtually the identical infraction for which Sampson had been punished while at Oklahoma.

Following the familiar dance steps in advance of an NCAA investigation, Indiana first made a fall guy out of Rob Senderoff, the assistant coach who had participated in the calls. Senderoff--who, ironically, had been recommended to Sampson by their mutual friend Tom Crean--resigned last Oct. 30 at the university's request. The school hired an Indianapolis law firm to conduct an independent investigation of the phone records. In hopes of mitigating a likely NCAA sanction and having the violations characterized as secondary rather than major, IU then took the preemptive step of forfeiting a basketball scholarship for the 2008-09 season. Sampson was deprived of a $500,000 raise but remained on the job.

There was some outrage and embarrassment in Hoosier Nation, but it was outstripped by optimism. For the first time in years, the team appeared capable of reaching the Final Four, a destination that had eluded the Hoosiers all but once since 1993. And if there was cultural pressure to win, there was intense financial urgency as well. A successful season in hoops would also have a pronounced effect on recruiting, alumni contributions and even undergraduate applications.

As the season progressed, Sampsongate deepened. After interviewing Sampson following the discovery of his impermissible calls at Oklahoma, LuAnn Humphrey, the NCAA's associate director of enforcement, had been so impressed with his candor that she wrote him a personal note. "Your honesty has renewed my faith in the state of college basketball," she said. "You truly are a role model." Three years later there was no such commendation. The NCAA gumshoes accused Sampson of providing false and misleading information. They deemed his alibi--essentially that he didn't realize he was being patched into the impermissible three-way calls, as he seldom checked his caller ID--to be something less than credible. (Sampson stands by his defense and denies lying to investigators.)

There were other signs that the program was coming apart. Reserve forward DeAndre Thomas was arrested for driving without a valid license and paid a fine. Guards Jordan Crawford and Armon Bassett and forward Jamarcus Ellis were each suspended by the program for undisclosed reasons. Multiple sources close to the team assert that marijuana use was common among a group of players, some of whom were made to take part in a drug counseling program set up by the athletic department. Despite a wealth of academic support, the team's collective grade-point average plummeted from 2.89 in the fall semester to 2.13 in the spring, when players were cutting classes.

According to Eric Gordon Sr., his son "didn't get involved in the smoking and partying" and, as a result, felt alienated from some of his teammates. Likewise senior co-captain D.J. White rarely spent time around his fellow players away from the court. "The kids weren't on the same page," says Gordon Sr. "They didn't have similar backgrounds or experiences or goals, and basically all hell broke loose."

Sampson vigorously denies that the program had spun out of control. "Did we have some issues and problems?" he says. "You're not going to deal with a group of kids of a certain age and not have some issues."

Last FEB. 8, Indiana received a letter from the NCAA, which is headquartered 50 miles up the road in Indianapolis and--as if this story needs another layer of irony--led by Myles Brand, the Indiana president who had ordered Knight's firing. The NCAA outlined five major violations committed by Sampson and his staff. The NCAA did not take kindly to Sampson's alleged fabrications to the investigators nor to his status as a repeat offender.

When Indiana's new president, Michael McRobbie, replaced Herbert in July 2007, he articulated an ambitious and wide-ranging agenda that included improving research funds, upgrading facilities and developing the school as a leader in the life sciences. But now, McRobbie, an Australian with a background in artificial intelligence, was devoting untold hours to the fallout of a basketball coach's improper phone calls to 17-year-old recruits. "I fully understand the role athletics play--an enormous role--in the institution historically and as a way to engage alumni and provide opportunities for highly talented and qualified student-athletes," says McRobbie. "But we must never forget the word student is the key word there."

On Feb. 22 the divorce became official. Sampson walked off with a $750,000 buyout after agreeing that he would not sue the university for wrongful termination. "Mistakes were made, and I accept responsibility," says Sampson, now an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. "But a lot of things I've been accused of have been wrong and taken out of context."