Montana Tech Keeps Sampson's Name

The school that gave Kelvin Sampson his first job as a head coach has no plans in changing its court name that honors him.

Sampson recently was suspended from the University of Indiana and accepted a $750,000 buyout of his contract following a mess of recruiting scandals.

As for Montana Tech, who he coached from 1981-1985, still supports him and honors him as a great man and great coach. Sampson shaped the poor team into a winning team in just one season and now the Orediggers are a winning program. Sampson coached M.Tech with the salary of $1,100 a year and later donated $50,000 to renovate the school's physical education building.

To commemorate Sampson, Montana Tech placed his signature on the basketball court. "We're not a big school, but we're extremely loyal, and we're not going to get caught up in that whole game," McClafferty, athletic director of Montana Tech stated. "Our court will stay Kelvin Sampson Court. We still love the guy, and if he wants to come back and coach here, we'd sure take him."

It makes me happy to see this school stay loyal and handle this situation with class. Knowing that this man made their program into what it is today, Montana Tech won't turn their back on him and erase him from their history.

The Orediggers aren't doing so well this year however, they are 1-9 in Frontier Conference play, and 5-19 overall. (Mr. Sampson? Are you listening?)

Go Orediggers!