Current assistant and former Indiana standout Dan Dakich will replace Kelvin Sampson as men's head basketball coach, Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan announced at a press conference tonight.

The decision came after Sampson and the university agreed on a contract buyout, which called for the departing coach to receive $750,000 upon his resignation. Various media outlets reported that an anonymous donor contributed $550,000 of the total. Sources confirmed those reports to Peegs.com earlier tonight.

Greenspan said the administration opted to buyout Sampson's contract instead of suspending him or firing him because, under the terms of the agreement reached by both parties, Sampson can't sue the university in the future, should the NCAA rule in his favor during his legal hearing this June.

"It was a decision that was reached in both parties' best interests," Greenspan said. "What I mean by that is, there was not a great appetite on either party's part to be involved in a potentially contentious litigation. I think this helps the team, the players and the university deal quicker. And I think it gives coach Sampson the opportunity, come the hearing in Seattle in June, to make his case as he sees fit in terms of the charges that have been presented against him."

Dakich, who played under Bob Knight from 1981-85, took the reigns instead of assistant Ray McCallum, who has previous head coaching stops at Ball State and Houston.

Greenspan said he has confidence in both individuals to perform to the best of their abilities.

"I am confident that coach Dakich, with his head coaching experience and his history as an IU basketball player, will be able to assist Indiana University during this challenging period," Greenspan said. "Coach McCallum also has head coaching experiencing and he is admired by players and fellow coaches alike."

Assistant Jeff Meyer will remain on staff, Greenspan said. Meyer, who was implicated in the sanctions scandal, will keep his current position with the team because Greenspan said, that after review, the administration decided Meyer should be retained.

"We took a look at all of our coaches and all of our activities and actions," Greenspan said. "That was a strong part of the charge the (university) president (Michael McRobbie) gave me a week ago on Friday, so we took a look at all those actions, and we made a determination that coach Meyer should continue and be a part of our team."

News of Sampson's departure dominated national headlines through today and much of Thursday, but the players Sampson formerly presided over made some news as well.

As reported earlier, sources told Peegs.com that a number of players sat out this afternoon's practice and that the group included star forward D.J. White. Also missing were DeAndre Thomas, Brandon McGee, Jordan Crawford, Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis.

Greenspan was hesitant to speak on behalf of the players, but he admitted that there is a possibility of a player boycott for tomorrow's game against Northwestern.

"I assume there is always that chance, and I won't pretend to speak for our players," Greenspan said. "I think much like any student-athletes, they develop a strong affinity for a coach, and that's a tribute to coach Sampson."

As for the incoming high school recruits who signed letters of intent this fall, Greenspan said "one or two" of them have provisions in their LOIs that allow them to back out of the agreement should IU face an NCAA Tournament ban or a coaching change.

"My recollection is that one or two of the recruits that signed with us, we had had a provision that if there was a tournament ban or a change of coaches, that they would have an opportunity to get a release from that," he said.

Personally, Greenspan didn't acknowledge his own disappointment in Sampson, but he said he did sympathize with the situation faced by the players - specifically White, who is going through his second coaching change as a college player.

"I feel a significant disappointment for most our players," Greenspan said. "I think this is a very difficult thing for them to go through. In particular, I'm troubled by the impact emotionally and perhaps any other way that this has on a young man like D.J. White because I found over the years D.J. to be a very, very respectful and likable young man who endured a transition like this several years ago, which I know was difficult for him."

White was a sophomore when former head coach Mike Davis resigned. Four years ago, Davis recruited White as a key part of IU's 2004 class of incoming players, a group that many scouting services ranked in the top five nationally. With the recent departure of guard A.J. Ratliff, White is the only member of the class who is still with Indiana's basketball program.

In the middle of last week, the university released a report from the NCAA that alleged Sampson and members of his staff committed five "major violations". The report also cited Sampson for being dishonest with the university and the NCAA during both organizations' investigations into the impermissible recruiting phone calls Sampson allegedly made while at IU. Last Friday, McRobbie gave Greenspan and an appointed committee five days to investigate the NCAA's findings, then return with a recommendation for a further course of action.

News of Sampson's misconduct first surfaced in mid-October, when the university self-reported perceived violations by Sampson. The embattled coach was found to have participated in an estimated 10 conference calls with high school players. Under the terms of the sanctions placed upon Sampson by the NCAA and Indiana for his past transgressions at Oklahoma, Sampson was barred from making three-way calls with recruits.

Additionally, former assistant coach Rob Senderoff was implicated in the scandal. Senderoff resigned shortly after after news of the violations broke in October.

Sampson was previously under fire at Oklahoma, where he and his staff were found to have made more than 500 disallowed phone calls to high school recruits.