College basketball's 30 biggest cheaters that tainted the game

College basketball’s 30 biggest cheaters that tainted the game

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) /

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DALLAS – MARCH 13: Head coach Dave Bliss of the Baylor Bears looks on against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the Phillips 66 Big XII Championships at American Airlines Center on March 13, 2003 in Dallas, Texas. The Red Raiders won 68-65. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /

21. Dave Bliss

If we were to make a list of the most despicable human beings to ever grace the college basketball landscape, Dave Bliss would be right near the top of the list. When we broke down the biggest college basketball scandals ever earlier this summer, Bliss was right at the top for his role in the coverup of Patrick Dennehy’s murder by teammate Carlton Dotson.

While that behavior is heinous, it doesn’t make him an outright cheater, which explains why Bliss is far lower on this list. There were elements of cheating involved during his time at Baylor, however, which solidify Bliss’ place here.

While the Dennehy saga was going on, the NCAA began looking into some fishy financial situations going on at Baylor. Dennehy had been set to play that season without a scholarship, leading people to question how he was paying his own way at Baylor.

It turned out that Bliss had been secretly paying the tuition for Dennehy and other players, a clear NCAA rules violation. When he realized that the walls were caving in around him, Bliss instructed players and assistants to lie to investigators, claiming that Dennehy was dealing drugs to help pay for his tuition.

The whole scheme unraveled when one of Bliss’ assistants taped him instructing players to lie to investigators, which led to the NCAA bringing the hammer down on both Bliss and Baylor. Baylor received severe penalties, including seven years of probation and a ban on non-conference games for the 2005-2006 season, while Bliss was given a show-cause penalty that essentially banned him from coaching until 2015.