Indiana University denied an NCAA charge of "failure to monitor" its men's basketball program, saying in a written response that its compliance system exceeded standard practices and could not have stopped coaches intent on cheating.
"This is an unethical conduct case, not a failure-to-monitor case," the response said.
Released publicly Monday, the response is the last step in the year-long case before a decision by the NCAA infractions committee. That decision could come as soon as October.
Former coach Kelvin Sampson and former assistant Rob Senderoff are accused of four major rules violations involving recruiting and dishonesty. The infractions committee added the failure-to-monitor charge in June, putting IU at risk for additional penalties.
But the school's response said its self-imposed sanctions — the loss of one scholarship and recruiting restrictions — are sufficient regardless of whether the school is found guilty of failure to monitor.
"Practically speaking, the fallout from this self-reported infractions case has been a devastating sanction in and of itself," the report said.
It added that the program was "decimated by the actions of the prior coaching staff."
IU has endured a torrent of bad publicity, new coach Tom Crean had to rebuild the program virtually from scratch and the coming season is expected to be bleak. Yet Crean has oral commitments for 2009-10 from recruits regarded as one of the best classes in the nation.
IU's response — prepared by the school and its outside legal counsel — emphasized that the entire saga came about because of self-reported violations, and that the Indianapolis-based NCAA enforcement staff didn't include failure to monitor in its original charges.
The response said the committee seems to be making the failure-to-monitor charge "simply because Indiana University hired Sampson." The coach had admitted similar NCAA violations when IU hired him from Oklahoma. The penalties followed him to IU.
At the time, the response said, "Sampson appeared to be contrite, repeatedly stated in an apparently earnest and heartfelt manner that he had learned his lesson, and had no record of other infractions during a long tenure as a head coach. The University decided to give him a second chance."
IU said most of the improper phone calls were undetectable because of false reporting. The school acknowledged that some of the phone calls could have been caught sooner, but because its compliance system exceeded that of "the overwhelming majority" of schools, a failure-to-monitor charge is unwarranted.
One unexpected element of the response was a letter from Jeff Meyer, a former assistant coach under Sampson at IU, to the infractions committee.
Meyer said IU took compliance seriously. He said top administrators often stopped by personally, "emphasizing to the coaching staff our responsibilities to comply with the imposed sanctions by letter and in spirit."
How the heralded 2009-10 class could be affected
While it's unclear when the infractions committee decision will be released publicly, IU will be informed 48 hours before the announcement. The school will receive the written penalty report 24 hours before the public release.
Sampson and Senderoff will be informed of the decision 24 hours before the release and given the report the next morning.
Public release of the report will be at 3 p.m.
In a statement released by the university, athletic director Rick Greenspan said, "President (Michael) McRobbie has consistently stated his strong belief that the IU athletic department met or exceeded standards in the area of monitoring, and we hope for a successful adjudication of this allegation."
