Indiana coach to blame, NCAA told

INDIANAPOLIS, July 1 (UPI) -- Indiana University's president told NCAA infractions committee members last month the school's former basketball coach was mostly to blame for violations.

In a closed meeting June 14 in Seattle, IU President Michael McRobbie closed two days of hearings by saying that hiring Kelvin Sampson was "a risk that should not have been taken," the Indianapolis Star reported Tuesday.

McRobbie's statement was released by the university Monday in response to a public records request by The Indianapolis Star and other news organizations.

In video conference from Bloomington, McRobbie responded to four major violation charges by telling the infractions committee: "No longer can we say that we have had no allegations of major NCAA violations in almost a half a century. And that hurts me and Indiana University even more than the damage that has been done to the program that coach (Tom) Crean has inherited and now has to rebuild."