30 biggest college basketball scandals of all time

27. Howard Porter causes Villanova’s 1971 Final Four to be vacated

The Villanova Wildcats are a program known for its strong basketball tradition, with historians pointing to the Wildcats’ miracle title in 1985 and recent dynasty as signs of basketball excellence. Those are fine examples to look to, but one of Villanova’s all-time best teams has been forgotten due to a controversy involving its best player.

Back in 1971, Villanova had an excellent team, anchored by star center Howard Porter. The Wildcats went 27-6 on the year, getting all the way to the Final Four where they upset unbeaten Penn to earn a shot at John Wooden and mighty UCLA.

The Bruins were in the midst of a dynastic run, entering the contest winners of the last four national championships, but the Wildcats gave them everything they could handle. UCLA ended up winning the game, but Villanova proved to be a worthy adversary, with Porter being named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after putting up 25 points in the title game loss.

The problem emerged later on, however, when information surfaced that Porter had signed with an agent in the middle of the season to facilitate a deal with the ABA’s Pittsburgh Condors. Players signing with agents was rampant back then, but Porter was unfortunate enough to get caught, leading to some severe consequences for Villanova.

The Wildcats were forced to vacate their Final Four run, which ironically allowed Penn to become one of the rare teams to go undefeated and not win a national championship in the NCAA Tournament era. Porter was also stripped of his Most Outstanding Player award, and to this day he is the only MOP to have the award taken away from them.