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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CCNY basketball coach Dave Polansky greets his eager Beavers at opening of practice. October 25, 1969. (Photo by Arthur Pomerantz/New York Post/Photo Archives, LLC via Getty Images) /

6. CCNY

What if I told you a college basketball dynasty could just come to an end with no one noticing? IF that sounds like the tagline of a future 30 for 30 film, it would be a story about the rise and fall of CCNY basketball.

If you’re not familiar with CCNY, it is for good reason, since they don’t have a Division I college basketball program. The Beavers were, however, a rising college basketball power in the late 1940s and 1950s.

CCNY pulled off an unrepeatable double in 1951, winning both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT in the same season. While it looked like CCNY was poised to become a college sports powerhouse, everything came crashing down thanks to a massive point-shaving scheme.

Several star players participated in a point-shaving scheme that ensnared seven schools, with CCNY and Kentucky being the highest-profile programs caught. The scandal ended up exposing widespread corruption at the school, and Madison Square Garden banned CCNY from playing games at the world’s most famous arena.

That would prove to be a death sentence for the school, which shut down its athletics program as a result of this scandal. The Beavers resurfaced years later, but they now play at the Division III level and have no aspirations of trying to get back to Division I anytime soon.