Repeat Offenders: Three Coaches Vacated NCAA Play With Different Schools

"We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does." - Air Force honor code

College presidents finally seem to be paying at least a little more than just lip service to proposals for upright athletic programs. But the well-worn cliche "cheaters never prosper" isn't quite valid for coaches who didn't exactly abide by the aforementioned Air Force honor code.

Fool me once, shame on thee; fool me twice, shame on me. Shouldn't the three coaches who were in charge of two different schools when they were forced to vacate NCAA Tournament records be viewed as damaged goods rather than being canonized as they are in some quarters?

One man's trash is another man's treasure. It shouldn't be any surprise that John Calipari and Jim Valvano have a significant number of suspect characters among the list of "Bad Boys of College Basketball" assembled by CollegeHoopedia.com although their contributions to men behaving badly pales in comparison to the coddling of college cons by Jerry Tarkanian.

Six of Calipari's UMass players each reportedly received $12,000 to settle invasion-of-privacy complaints when their "alarming" grades were leaked to the media. After all, we can't have a serious discussion regarding scholastic standards; now can we? If the NCAA is indeed serious about draining the swamp, the governing body should embrace academic standards forcing the NBA to establish a reform school division in its developmental league. Studies have shown that a college education does not appear to diminish the probability of an eventual pro player getting in trouble with the law.

Rattling skeletons, following is the short but dubious list of repeat offenders among coaches who probably have support from shills thinking any transgression was worth it because they each won an NCAA championship during their careers: