Fansided

30 biggest college basketball scandals of all time

By Mike Phillips

Coll. Basketball: W. Regionals. Michigan's Jimmy King #24 hugging Chris Webber #4 after game vs Temple. (Photo by Harley Soltes/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Coll. Basketball: W. Regionals. Michigan's Jimmy King #24 hugging Chris Webber #4 after game vs Temple. (Photo by Harley Soltes/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images) /
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ATHENS, GREECE – APRIL 23: Rick Pitino, Head Coach of Panathinaikos OPAP Athens react during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Play Off game 3 between Panathinaikos Opap Athens v Real Madrid at Olympic Sports Center Athens on April 23, 2019 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Panagiotis Moschandreou/EB via Getty Images)
ATHENS, GREECE – APRIL 23: Rick Pitino, Head Coach of Panathinaikos OPAP Athens react during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Play Off game 3 between Panathinaikos Opap Athens v Real Madrid at Olympic Sports Center Athens on April 23, 2019 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Panagiotis Moschandreou/EB via Getty Images) /

22. Rick Pitino’s various misdeeds

While this isn’t a single scandal per se, Rick Pitino deserves a special place on this list for all of the different scandals he has been caught up in throughout his career. Pitino is a Hall of Fame coach who wins everywhere he goes, but as Business Insider indicates, controversy followed him to each of those stops.

Even back as an assistant at the University of Hawaii, Pitino was linked to rules violations, such as paying for a round trip flight for a player, and the school was hit with two years of probation. Pitino denied involvement in any of those violations.

After a clean run at Providence and Kentucky, along with a failed tenure in the NBA, Pitino went to Louisville where winning and more controversy followed. Pitino found himself in hot water for several years thanks to an affair he had, with the mistress extorting him in exchange for his silence.

Louisville got itself into more trouble when allegations were made by an escort that the Cardinals hired strippers to have sex with recruits and players between 2010 and 2014. Pitino denied involvement or knowledge of this incident, but he was still able to retain his job at the time.

The third and final strike at Louisville came due to the Cardinals’ involvement in the current recruiting scandal, which claimed that forward Brian Bowen was paid to go to Louisville. Pitino again denied involvement in this incident, but Louisville had enough, firing him prior to the 2017-2018 season.