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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NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 4: Former head coach Jim Calhoun of the Connecticut Huskies looks on during the Jimmy V Classic college basketball game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack on December 4, 2012 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Wolfpack won 69-65. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

20. Jim Calhoun

There is no doubt one of the most accomplished head coaches in college basketball history is Jim Calhoun. He took over at the University of Connecticut in 1986, with the program rating as a bottom feeder in the Big East, and turned it into a national powerhouse capped off with three national championships.

There is a reason that Calhoun is on this list, however, and it involves one of his former recruits, Nate Miles. He was expelled before he ever played a game for UConn despite receiving a scholarship, but his recruitment opened up the school to a litany of rules violations.

One of Calhoun’s former team managers, who was trying to become an NBA agent, provided housing, transportation, and meals to Miles to get him to commit to UConn. Due to his ties to Calhoun, the manager was determined to be a representative of the school, making his provisions NCAA rules violations.

Calhoun was suspended for the first three Big East games of the 2011-2012 season, and the program itself admitted that it had conducted several major rules violations. The NCAA also noted that Calhoun didn’t do a good enough job policing his program, allowing the infractions to occur even though he should have known enough to stop them.

UConn eventually was forced to accept a one-year postseason ban for the violations, which impacted Calhoun’s successor, Kevin Ollie. Calhoun retired after the 2012 season, but these rules violations were an unfortunate end to a legendary run with the Huskies.