College basketball’s 30 biggest cheaters that tainted the game

28. Kentucky gets caught in two major cheating scandals

In terms of marquee programs, Kentucky is among the bluest of all the blue bloods in college basketball. The Wildcats are historically renowned for their excellence on the court, winning eight national championships and making the NCAA Tournament 59 times, but they have had their fair share of off-court cheating issues.

The first major one came back in the 1950s when several Kentucky players were caught in the infamous point-shaving scandal of 1951. Three notable Wildcats’ players, including stars Alex Groza and Ralph Beard, took money from gamblers to affect the outcomes of several Kentucky games.

The players’ arrest led to an NCAA investigation of Kentucky, which also uncovered numerous rules violations, such as illegal payments to players and allowing ineligible athletes to compete. Things got so bad that the Wildcats were forced to cancel the entire 1952-1953 season, creating the first de facto death penalty in college basketball.

Kentucky got back on the straight and narrow after that, but things took another dark turn in 1989 when the Wildcats ended up in hot water again. Assistant coach Dwane Casey was alleged to have paid a player $1,000 to come to Kentucky while another received help on his college entrance exams, which should have made him ineligible, but he was allowed to play for the Wildcats anyway.

Kentucky reacted swiftly to the allegations, removing head coach Eddie Sutton and athletic director Cliff Hogan, which likely saved the school from another death penalty since they were on the NCAA’s radar for other rules violations. The Wildcats instead got three year’s probation and a two-year postseason ban in addition to other penalties.