Sampson was born in the Lumbee Native American community of Deep Branch in Robeson County, North Carolina, where he excelled in the classroom and the athletic arena during his prep days at Pembroke High School, in Pembroke, North Carolina. Sampson was captain of his high school basketball team for two years, and played for his father John W. "Ned" Sampson. His father was also one of the 500 Lumbee Native Americans who made national news by driving the Ku Klux Klan out of Maxton, North Carolina in what is annually celebrated by the Lumbee as the Battle of Hayes Pond.[1] Later he played at Pembroke State University (now UNC Pembroke), concentrating on basketball and baseball.[2] The point guard was team captain for the Braves as a senior and earned four letters in basketball and three in baseball.[3] He earned Dean's List recognition throughout his collegiate career and received the Gregory Lowe Memorial Award as the school's outstanding physical education major his senior year.
After earning degrees from Pembroke State in both health and physical education and political science, Sampson pursued his master's degree in coaching and administration at Michigan State University. He left with his degree and a year's experience as a graduate assistant under Jud Heathcote.[4]
Personal life
Sampson is married to Karen Lowry.[5] They have one daughter, Lauren, and one son, Kellen. Lauren is the Men's Basketball Director of External Operations at the University of Houston, and Kellen is an assistant coach, also at Houston.[6]
College coaching career
After leaving Michigan State, Sampson moved to Montana Tech (of the NAIA) where he became assistant coach. After serving as an interim coach for one season, Sampson guided the Orediggers to a 73–45 record in his final four seasons. Montana Tech had won just 17 games combined in the three years before his arrival. Sampson turned in three consecutive 22-win seasons and claimed three Frontier Conference championships at Montana Tech. He led his teams to two NAIA District 12 title games and was named the league's coach of the year in 1983 and 1985.
Washington State
After five years at Montana Tech, Sampson joined the staff of the Washington State Cougars as an assistant to Len Stevens. After two years under Stevens, Sampson was named the head coach of the Washington State Cougars in 1988. When Sampson led the team to the NIT in 1992, it marked the first time Washington State had participated in postseason play since 1983. He was named Kodak District 14 Coach of the Year by the NABC for the second time in three years. He first won the award in 1991 when his Cougar squad produced the school's first winning season since 1983. Sampson was also named Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1992. In his final year at the school in 1994 he led the Cougars to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 11 years. With records of 22–11 in 1992 and 20–11 in 1994, Sampson became one of only four men to win 20 or more games in a single season in Washington State history. Sampson finished with a 103–103 record in his seven seasons at WSU.
Oklahoma
Sampson became the 11th head coach at the University of Oklahoma on April 25, 1994.[7] Sampson was named national coach of the year in 1995 (his first year at OU) by the Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association and Basketball Weekly after guiding the Sooners to 23–9 overall and 15–0 home marks. It was the second-best overall record posted by a first-year coach in Big 8 history.
Sampson possesses the highest winning percentage in Oklahoma history (.719). He guided OU to nine consecutive 20-win seasons. He averaged 24.4 wins over those nine campaigns. He directed the Sooners to postseason tournament berths in each of his 12 seasons (11 NCAA Tournaments), with a Sweet 16 showing in 1999, a Final Four appearance in 2002 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2003. His teams also played in the Big 12 tournament title game on five occasions during the 10 seasons he coached in the Big 12. In 2001, 2002, and 2003, the Sooners won that tournament. Sampson finished with a Big 12 Tournament record of 17–7. His 279 wins are second in school history, behind only Billy Tubbs.
The University of Oklahoma is where Sampson earned his nickname "Mr. Blue Shirt" as he only wore blue dress shirts when he coached.[8]
Indiana
On March 29, 2006, Sampson was named the head coach at Indiana University following the resignation of Mike Davis.[9] Sampson was the second minority coach in the history of the Hoosier basketball program behind Davis. Upon taking the reins of the Indiana Hoosiers he noted, "I love my job at Oklahoma and I would not leave OU for any job unless it was a job like Indiana. My family and I have had 12 great years at Oklahoma, the best years of our life, but Indiana is one of the great programs in college basketball and if they call and offer, it is a job as a coach that you have to take."[10]
In his first season at Indiana, Sampson led the Hoosiers to a 21–11 record overall and a 34th appearance in the NCAA tournament as a 7th seed in the West. Indiana beat first round opponent Gonzaga, losing in the second round to eventual Regional Champion UCLA, 54–49.
On February 22, 2008, Sampson was forced to resign due to allegations of serious NCAA violations,[11] which included sending text messages to recruits, something that was against NCAA rules between 2007 and 2013. As a result of these allegations, Sampson received a five-year show-cause penalty.[12] See NCAA violations section below.
NBA
Following his resignation and penalties from the NCAA, he spent the next three years as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks followed by three years as an assistant for the Houston Rockets.
Houston Cougars
Sampson coaching Houston in 2019
Following the expiration of the five-year show cause penalty, the Houston Cougars hired Sampson to coach the men's basketball team on April 2, 2014.[13] Sampson was instrumental in Houston's push to raise funds to build a $25 million practice facility in 2016 and a $60 million renovation to Hofheinz Pavilion (renamed the Fertitta Center) in 2018.[14] Sampson led Houston to the NIT in his second and third seasons. In 2018, Houston posted its first Top 25 finish and won its first NCAA tournament game since 1984. In 2019, the Cougars won a school-record 33 games, only the fourth 30-win season in school history. They also advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, their deepest run in the tournament since advancing all the way to the national championship game in 1983 and 1984.[15]
In 2021, Sampson led Houston to its first conference tournament crown since 2010. In the NCAA Tournament the Cougars, who became the first team to play four schools seeded tenth or higher, defeated Oregon State to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1984. Sampson became the fifteenth coach to have reached a Final Four again after a gap of over ten years, having last reached the Final Four in 2002 (only Ray Meyer, Lon Kruger, and Lou Henson had a longer gap between Final Four appearances).[16] In 2022, Sampson's Cougars overcame season-ending injuries to two key players to win both the regular-season American Athletic Conference crown and the conference tournament and proceeded to advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. They finished with a record of 32–6 and a ranking of #7 in the Coaches Poll,[17] and Sampson was voted AAC Coach of the Year for the third time.[18]
Sampson is currently the second-winningest coach in UH history, behind only Hall of Famer Guy Lewis.
NCAA violations
Sampson played a role in the controversial recruitment of star player Eric Gordon, who signed with Indiana after reneging on an early verbal commitment to the University of Illinois. Sampson was criticized by fellow coaches for failing to communicate with then-Illinois coach Bruce Weber about the recruitment,[19] and hiring people close to Gordon to gain favor.[20] Some observers said that Sampson's recruitment of the verbally committed Gordon was unethical, but legal.[21]
In addition to the Gordon incident, Sampson has been in the middle of a number of other controversies. Under Sampson's watch, Oklahoma was placed under a three-year investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. At the end of their investigation, the NCAA issued a report citing more than 550 impermissible calls made by Sampson and his staff to 17 different recruits. The NCAA barred Sampson from recruiting off campus and making phone calls for one year, ending May 24, 2007.[22]
Prior to the findings by the NCAA, Kelvin Sampson was the President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), an organization that supports basketball coaches across the country. During his tenure the Ethics Committee of the NABC was formed to address the many problems with violations that college basketball faced going into the 2003 season. That very same Ethics Committee would later reprimand Kelvin Sampson as a result of the NCAA findings, placing him on probation for three years, during which time he would not be eligible to serve in any official capacity for the NABC, be considered for Coach of the Year honors, or receive Final Four ticket privileges.[23]
As coach at Indiana in October 2007, Sampson again came under scrutiny for making impermissible phone calls. Despite being restricted from making any outbound recruiting phone calls, Sampson participated in approximately 10 conference calls with recruits that violate the terms of the sanctions levied against him by the NCAA. IU assistant Rob Senderoff (who later resigned) also made some 35 impermissible phone calls to recruits from his home. On February 8, 2008, the NCAA informed Indiana that Sampson had committed five "major" rules violations. The NCAA alleged that Sampson knowingly violated telephone recruiting restrictions imposed on him. More seriously, the NCAA also alleged that Sampson lied to IU and NCAA officials regarding his involvement in the impermissible calls.[24]
Indiana launched an internal investigation that school president Michael McRobbie said would take seven days. On February 14, 2008, ESPN reported that Sampson's status as coach of the Hoosiers would be decided on a "game-by-game basis."[25] Fox Sports reported that Sampson was to be fired on February 22, 2008,[26] but later reports indicated that Sampson would be suspended without pay. Eventually it was announced that Sampson would resign, reaching a $750,000 settlement with Indiana. In return, Sampson agreed not to sue Indiana for wrongful termination. Assistant Dan Dakich was named as interim head coach for the rest of the season.[27]
According to many college basketball pundits, however, Sampson had virtually no chance of keeping his job once the allegations broke. Sports Illustrated college basketball columnist Seth Davis implied that Indiana officials had already decided Sampson was guilty, based on the fact that its internal investigation would only last a week. The NCAA had given Indiana 90 days to respond to the notice.[28] ESPN's Mark Schlabach suggested that Indiana wanted to look for a reason not to pay the remaining money he was owed on his contract, and also wanted to eliminate any chance of being sued. He also said that the only reason Sampson was allowed to continue coaching was because his contract didn't allow the school to suspend him immediately.[29] ESPN's Pat Forde said that Sampson's departure was "preordained" the moment the NCAA sent out its notice of allegations, and suggested that Sampson might never coach in Division I again.[30]
During a private meeting with the NCAA infractions committee on June 30, McRobbie apologized for hiring Sampson and called that decision a mistake. McRobbie said that Sampson betrayed his trust as Indiana's coach, and demonstrated that his hiring had been "a risk that should not have been taken."[31]
On November 25, 2008, the NCAA issued Indiana three years' probation for violations largely tied to Sampson's watch. It also imposed a five-year show-cause order on Sampson, meaning that any NCAA member school who wanted to hire Sampson while the order was in effect would have to impose sanctions on him unless it can "show cause" that Sampson has served his punishment. As most NCAA members will not consider hiring a coach with an outstanding show-cause order, the show-cause effectively prevented Sampson from coaching at the major-college level until 2013. A similar incident happened to Todd Bozeman, who was slapped with an eight-year show-cause order in 1996 and was unable to find work in the college ranks again until 2006. Senderoff, now head coach at Kent State, was hit with a three-year show-cause order.[32] When he was hired at Houston, Sampson became only the fourth coach to get a head coaching job at another school after receiving a show-cause (after Bozeman, Senderoff and Bruce Pearl).
In December 2008, Eric Gordon raised issues of drug use on the Indiana team, stating that some players were abusing drugs and that this led to the disintegration of the team, and that Sampson tried to stop it, but did not as he was focused on winning.[33]
NBA career
On March 8, 2008, Sampson was hired in an advisory role by the San Antonio Spurs.[34]
On May 14, 2008, Sampson was hired as assistant coach of the Bucks under Scott Skiles.
Until 2014, he had been an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets.
International basketball
Sampson coached the 2004 Under-21 USA national team to a gold medal in Under-21 Tournament of the Americas in Halifax, Nova Scotia, after it posted a 5–0 record. He was an assistant coach under George Karl for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.[35] Sampson was also the head coach of the United States Junior National Team that participated in the Junior World Games in Athens, Greece, in the summer of 1995.
In the summer of 1994, Sampson was selected to coach at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia. He served as an assistant to former Southern California head coach George Raveling. The team earned a bronze medal and competed against USA Basketball's Dream Team II following the games. In 1993, Sampson was selected head coach of the West team at the U.S. Olympic Festival in San Antonio, Texas. His squad won the silver medal.
National championPostseason invitational champion Conference regular season championConference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season championDivision regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion
Sampson resigned on February 22, 2008, and was replaced by assistant Dan Dakich for the remainder of the season. Indiana credits the last seven games of the season to Dakich.
Michael Dean Woodson is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team.
Thomas Aaron Crean is a college basketball coach. Most recently, he was the head coach for the University of Georgia men's basketball team. Crean was previously the head coach of Indiana University. Prior to that, he served as head coach at Marquette University (1999–2008), where his team reached the 2003 NCAA Final Four.
The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in the NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. They compete as members of the Big 12 Conference. The program has made six appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four, which is the most of any team who has not won a national championship.
The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers play at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on the Branch McCracken Court in Bloomington, Indiana on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Indiana has won five National Championships in men's basketball – two coming under Branch McCracken and three under Bob Knight. For forty-seven years and counting, Indiana's 1976 squad remains the last undefeated NCAA men's basketball champion.
Alvin Joseph Brooks Jr. is a basketball coach and head coach of the Lamar University's men's basketball team. Brooks returned to Lamar as men's basketball head coach on April 1, 2021. Prior to Lamar, he most recently served as an assistant coach for the Houston Cougars. Brooks has also served as Director of Basketball Operations for the Kentucky Wildcats. He coached the Houston Cougars from 1993 to 1998. He also served as an assistant coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team and was at Texas A&M through the '06–'07 season.
Daniel John Dakich is an American basketball sportscaster. He is a former player, assistant coach, interim head coach for the Indiana University Hoosiers former head coach at Bowling Green State University and a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall Of Fame. He currently is the host of Don't @ Me for OutKick.com.
The 2007–08 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University during the 2007-08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Indiana was a member of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. The interim head coach at the end of the season was Dan Dakich. Indiana University announced on February 22, 2008, that Kelvin Sampson accepted a $750,000 buyout of his contract and resigned as the Indiana University men's basketball coach.
The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represents the University of Oklahoma in intercollegiate men's basketball. The program competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Sooners play their home games at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma has won 14 conference championships, 7 conference tournaments. The team has participated in five Final Fours, and holds the record for most NCAA tournament wins without a championship. As of the 2022 season, they are tied for 12th all-time in NCAA tournament appearances. In addition to their tournament successes the program has produced several 33 All-Americans including Wayman Tisdale, Stacey King, Harvey Grant, Mookie Blaylock, Ryan Minor, Hollis Price, and Blake Griffin, 9 first round draft picks, including one No. 1 pick and four National Players of the Year: Vic Holt (1928), Gerald Tucker (1947), Blake Griffin (2009) and Buddy Hield (2016).
The 2008–09 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. The head coach was Tom Crean. The team played its home games in the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.
In the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a show-cause penalty is an administrative punishment ordering that any NCAA penalties imposed on a coach found to have committed major rules violations will stay in effect against that coach for a specified period of time—and could also be transferred to any other NCAA-member school that hires the coach while the sanctions are still in effect. Both the school and coach are required to send letters to the NCAA agreeing to abide by any restrictions imposed. They must also report back to the NCAA every six months until either the end of the coach's employment or the show-cause penalty. If the school wishes to avoid the NCAA penalties imposed on that coach, it must send representatives to appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions and "show cause" as to why it should not be penalized for hiring that coach. The penalty is intended to prevent a coach from escaping punishment for violations that he/she had a role in committing or allowing—which are generally applied to the school --by merely resigning and taking a coaching job at another, unpenalized school. It is currently the most severe penalty that can be brought against an American collegiate coach.
Bennie Seltzer is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the interim head coach of the Evansville Purple Aces team following the firing of Walter McCarty. Seltzer is the former head coach of the Samford Bulldogs, a position to which he was hired on April 5, 2012. Previously, he was hired in April 2008 by new Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Crean, who brought him and fellow assistant Tim Buckley over from his staff at Marquette. Following his dismissal from Samford, Seltzer was hired by Crean to be Indiana's Director of Player Performance.
Robert Andrew Senderoff is the head men's basketball coach at Kent State University. The winningest and longest-tenured coach in program history, he has led the Flashes to a Mid-American Conference regular season title as well as NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2023.
Patrick Kelsey is an American college basketball coach. He is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Louisville. He previously served as head coach for the College of Charleston and Winthrop University.
The 2011 Indiana vs. Kentucky men's basketball game was a college basketball game between the Hoosiers of Indiana University Bloomington and Wildcats of the University of Kentucky who was ranked number 1 in the nation. A rivalry game between the two schools, this game was held at Assembly Hall on Indiana's campus. In an upset victory that was considered a turning point for the Hoosiers program, unranked Indiana defeated top-ranked Kentucky 73–72 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Christian Watford, which was nicknamed the "Watshot".
The Illinois–Indiana rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and the Indiana University Hoosiers. The rivalry between these bordering-state schools dates back to 1899 when the Indiana Hoosiers joined the Big Ten Conference of which Illinois is a founding member. The rivalry is most prominent in men's basketball, where both teams are perennial "Final Four contenders" and combined have won several conference championships. In football, the rivalry is less intense, but notable for the two school's geographic proximity, the history and longevity of the series with 73 total meetings dating back to 1899 and their status as a previously "protected rivalry" in the Big Ten.
The 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1982 and ended with the Final Four in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 4, 1983. The NC State Wolfpack won their second NCAA national championship with a 54–52 victory over the No. 1-ranked and heavily favored Houston Cougars.
Travis Andrew Steele is an American college basketball coach, and current head basketball coach at Miami (OH). He recently served as the head coach at Xavier.
The 2019–20 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by sixth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the American Athletic Conference. This was the second season that the team played its home games at the Fertitta Center.
The 2022–23 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by ninth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. The team played their home games at the Fertitta Center as members of the American Athletic Conference. In September 2021, Houston and fellow conference members Cincinnati and UCF accepted bids to join the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 33–4, 17–1 in AAC play, to win the AAC regular season championship. They defeated East Carolina and Cincinnati to advance to the AAC tournament championship game where they lost to Memphis. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional. They defeated Northern Kentucky and Auburn to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. There they lost to Miami (FL).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
