Sampson, Indiana agree on buyout

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson has agreed to a $750,000 buyout with the school, university spokesman Larry MacIntyre said Friday.

Assistant Dan Dakich took over the team as interim head coach. Senior captain D.J. White and teammates Armon Bassett, Jordan Crawford, Jamarcus Ellis, DeAndre Thomas and Brandon McGee skipped Dakich’s first practice as coach Friday afternoon, and it was unknown whether they would play when the 15th-ranked Hoosiers play at Northwestern today.

“While I’m saddened that I will not have the opportunity to coach these student-athletes, I feel that this is in the best interest of the program for me to step away at this time,” Sampson said in a statement released by the university.

An anonymous donor gave the university $550,000 to help with the buyout. The university will pay the additional $200,000.

An NCAA report cited Sampson for making improper phone calls to high school players, then providing false and misleading information to investigators from the university and the NCAA.