Reports: Kelvin Sampson Back In College Ranks As He's Hired By Houston
(CBS) Kelvin Sampson, who was last seen in the college basketball ranks leaving Indiana amid a cloud of controversy and NCAA violations, was hired as head coach by the University of Houston on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
Sampson's been working in the NBA since he resigned from Indiana in February 2008 after the NCAA discovered he'd violated terms of his probation from penalties he'd incurred while head coach at the University of Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to the NCAA Tournament 11 times in 12 seasons. Sampson's wrongdoing with the Hoosiers involved a bevy of impermissible phone calls and, just as significantly, he was deemed to have lied to the NCAA and Indiana officials.
Sampson was hit with a five-year show cause penalty for his part, which, practically speaking, made it all but impossible to coach in college in that timeframe. Sampson had previously also been a head coach at Washington State.
Sampson most recently was an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets.
The Houston Cougars were 17-16 this past season.