This hasn't been a good day to be a Hoosier.  Forget about the close loss to Wisconsin tonight.  With the multiple rule violations that the NCAA alleged against the university (and most specifically head coach Kelvin Sampson), I'm just embarrassed to have a diploma from Indiana University tonight.

For years, we could always hold our head high and say that, regardless of our on-court performance (which was usually pretty good anyways), we kept it clean.  There was never any hint of impropriety.  No longer.  Now we're just another NCAA school, playing the same dirty game that the worst of the worst is engaging in.

Don't get me wrong; I knew this was coming at some point, and likely sooner rather than later.  Unlike our esteemed athletic director, Rick Greenspan, I was actually aware of Sampson's sordid history at Oklahoma (amazingly, at the press conference announcing his hiring, my brother asked Greenspan if he was worried about Sampson's history, and Greenspan acted like he was completely unaware of his past).  I knew the lengths to which Sampson would push the boundaries of the NCAA rules, and I wasn't surprised that the NCAA came back in 2007 and alleged that Sampson had continued his improper behavior while at Indiana.

What upsets me is that it didn't have to be this way.  Not to be arrogant, but we're freaking Indiana University; we shouldn't have to resort to hiring a coach with such a shady past.  I know that the school pursued Texas head coach Rick Barnes.  I don't think he's a particularly fantastic game coach, and his teams aren't always the most exciting, but he runs a pretty clean and successful program.  Why Sampson and not Barnes?  Why not another coach?  Was Sampson really the only option out there for us?

The problem now is that Sampson's probably not going anywhere.  Greenspan's already made one major mistake when he didn't fire Mike Davis when he should have.  Had he fired him after the 2005 season, they would likely have had a great shot of getting Thad Matta as their head coach.  Instead, they allowed the 2005-2006 season to become a complete fiasco, due mostly to Davis' instability.  Sampson is Greenspan's guy.  If he fires Sampson, it's a clear admission that he screwed up yet again, and he'll likely be following Sampson out the door.

So, until school president Michael McRobbie decides to say enough is enough and fire Greenspan, this cluster is going to continue.  And the reputation of Indiana basketball is going to sink further and further.  Meanwhile, the NCAA is just licking its chops, waiting for its chance to nail the school to the wall.

I didn't even bother to watch the game tonight.  I actually wanted this team to lose.  How screwed up is that?  I want my alma mater to lose out the rest of the season, just to stick it to Sampson.

I don't want Bob Knight back; he wore out his welcome and we just got tired of defending him anymore.  The Davis era, that I don't want to relive.  It's time for a whole new regime.  It's time for a fresh start.

For now, I'm just embarrassed to be a Hoosier.