UH has announced former Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson will become the next men’s basketball coach.
Sampson will be introduced at a 3 p.m. press conference Thursday inside Hofheinz Pavilion after replacing James Dickey, who resigned for personal reasons.
Sampson makes his collegiate return for the first time since 2008 after impermissible and excessive telephone calls and text messages led to a five-year show-cause penalty. A 2008 NCAA report that charged him with five major violations led him to leave Indiana before the end of his second season. The violations extended from his tenure at Oklahoma.
Sampson, however, is a proven winner. He led Oklahoma to the NCAA tournament in 11 of his 12 seasons in Norman, including the Final Four in 2002 and Elite Eight in 2003, and he had 18 consecutive winning seasons.
“As we conducted our search, we spoke with many people who employed, worked with and worked for Kelvin Sampson at his previous institutions as well as current and former NCAA officials. Those reviews were extremely encouraging and, in multiple meetings with Kelvin, he was candid and completely transparent about his mistakes in the past. Coach Sampson is committed to leading a first-class program in all areas and is excited to return to the college game,” said athletics director Mack Rhoades.
