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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26 Nov 1998: Head coach Jerry Tarkanian of Fresno State Bulldogs looks on during the Carrs Great Alaska Shootout Game against Alaska Anchorage at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska. Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport /

10. Jerry Tarkanian

We’re now in the Top 10 of our list, and you really have to stand out to make it this far on our list of college basketball cheaters. There may not be many more controversial coaches on this list than Jerry Tarkanian, who has a national championship to his name but plenty of cheating incidents to discuss.

There is even a section on Tarkanian’s Wikipedia page documenting his various run-ins with the NCAA, dating all the way back to his time at Long Beach State. While he was the coach there, Tarkanian penned an opinion piece in the local paper claiming the NCAA ignored rule-breaking big schools only to punish small schools for similar infractions, only to see Long Beach State get hit with recruiting violations that occurred under his watch.

Tarkanian had departed for UNLV at that point, where he found himself being threatened with a two-year suspension due to his own questionable behavior and previous violations at UNLV that occurred before he was the coach. The coach sued the NCAA, claiming the suspension was a violation of his due process, and an injunction from a Nevada court allowed Tarkanian to coach for 11 years before the case hit the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the NCAA.

While the case was winding its way through the courts, Tarkanian built a winner at UNLV, guiding the Runnin’ Rebels to four Final Fours and a national championship in 1990, but the NCAA was on Tark’s case the whole time. Many players were suspended by the NCAA throughout his tenure, and Tark eventually resigned from UNLV after pictures emerged of three of his players in a hot tub with a noted gambler.

After a run in the NBA, Tarkanian returned to the college ranks in 1999, where he coached at Fresno State and took them to two NCAA Tournament appearances, but the school was hit with rules violations after Tarkanian’s retirement, including the fact that some student-athletes had coursework done for them.