LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Runnin' Rebels were the best in the west in the late 1980s, but after their historic championship win in 1990, the tables were turned.
In part two of our special report, Channel 13 sports reporter Tina Nguyen takes a look at what led to the downfall of the "Tarkanian Era" and how he helped change college basketball forever.
For many years, the Thomas and Mack Center was known as "Tark's Shark Tank" and represented winning with style for sports fan across the country. However, the good times did not last for the Runnin' Rebels as the legacy of UNLV Head Coach Jerry Tarkanian brought scandal — and success — to the Las Vegas valley.
Head Coach Jerry Tarkanian was at odds with the NCAA even before coming to UNLV, since his former program, Long Beach State was being investigated and hit with sanctions.
After UNLV made its first Final Four appearance in 1977, the NCAA was tipped off on rumors that UNLV was fixing grades, providing players with extra benefits. UNLV history professor Michael Green says Tarkanian pushed back on the allegations, claiming the NCAA punished small schools and overlooked alleged violations from larger schools.
Professor Green added, "He's telling truths that people don't want to be told. Let's face it, there has been historically ample corruption around college athletics."
At the same time, in 1983, there was a renewed focus on education with the hiring of the new university president, Robert Maxson. The relationship between the two soon turned out to be disastrous for UNLV's image, as supporters of Tarkanian accused Maxson of leading a campaign to try and force the coach out.
"Maxson should be remembered as a president who did a lot to benefit UNLV. Tarkanian should be remembered as a great basketball coach," Green said.
While the show went on for the Runnin' Rebels, a risky gamble from Tarkanian almost cost the program everything when he recruited a Lloyd Daniels from New York City.
Daniels would later be caught on TV trying to buy cocaine from an undercover cop in Las Vegas.
Daniels was also being led to UNLV by Richard Perry, a prominent gambler known as "the Fixer," who was convicted twice for sports bribery.
During a 1992 interview, Tarkanian addressed the decision to bring in Daniels, which he claimed would have been a great chance to "help the program" and help Daniels himself.
"And I wish we hadn't recruited him because that has really backfired on us," Tarkanian said during the interview. "But we didn't know he had been involved with drugs. That was the whole key."
In the end, UNLV survived the risky recruiting decision and the Runnin' Rebels went on to bring a National Championship to Las Vegas, despite a season that saw multiple players getting suspended throughout the year.
Danny Tarkanian Jerry's son, said, "UNLV is the only program in the last 50 years to win a national championship that's not from a major conference. I think that's astounding."
Following the historic win in 1990, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling in the 1977 case, stating that the NCAA could punish the university without due process. The NCAA issued sanctions, not allowing the team to play on National Television and banning them from the post-season. However, the team fought back and was able to delay the sanctions until the 1991 and '92 seasons.
In the 1990 season, UNLV was a team on another championship mission. The Rebels made one more run to the final four winning 45 games in a row, dating back to the previous season. However, the Duke Blue Devils got some payback, beating UNLV 79 to 77 in the final four.
Then the biggest bombshell to date descended on UNLV when a picture of several players posing with a notable sports briber was released in a local paper.
"We just wanted to play basketball, get an education, you know," Anderson Hunt, one of the Final Four MVPs, said. "All the NCAA stuff that was really above our head."
On May 26, 1991, the Las Vegas Review-Journal released this picture of Sports Briber Richard Perry in a hot tub with the Final Four MVP Anderson Hunt, starting center David Butler and Backup Center Moses Scurry. The photo was taken in 1989 but released in 1991.
Just 12 days after the photo was released, Tarkanian decided to step down.
Then, another revelation — a secret camera was discovered in the athletic department. It was later discovered that the camera was set up by the university and was being used to record practices.
The school's athletic director was later fired.
After the discovery, Tarkanian said, "Not only do we find out that we were being investigated by the NCAA intensely, but by our own university, to try and find any substance of any kind of violation."
Despite a push from supporters to try and keep Coach Tarkanian in his position, he would only coach one more season leading the Runnin' Rebels to a 26 and 2 record. Tarkanian would then go to the NBA before later returning to college basketball.
In 1992, Tarkanian sued the NCAA and six years later, the two sides settled out of court, awarding $2.5 million to Tarkanian. There was no admission of liability on either side.
Tarkanian's legacy is a complicated one, but for many people, he helped bring change to college basketball, such as pushing for athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness.
Danny Tarkanian told Channel 13, "Virtually everything my dad said and did in the late 1960s '70s, and '80s with his fight against the NCAA, the NCAA now says it's the right thing to do."
Associate Professor Michael Green also added, "Through building a great basketball program at the time, helped bring together a very desperate community."
On Oct. 30, 2013, the Jerry Tarkanian statue was unveiled outside of the Thomas and Mack center, following his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
It's been 8 years since the passing of Jerry Tarkanian, but his name lives on around Clark County and his run at UNLV continues to be remembered.
WANT TO READ MORE? How former UNLV Runnin' Rebels head coach, Jerry Tarkanian, put the men's basketball team on the map
