Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun retired with 873 wins, four Final Fours and three national championships. But those accomplishments didn’t come without controversy.
Calhoun was suspended for three Big East games during the 2011-12 season for violations, and UConn was striped of its 1996 NCAA tournament wins after the NCAA ruled two players accepted improper benefits.
And the 70-year-old leaves UConn ineligible for postseason play in 2013 after it failed to qualify academically.
It has become far too common for legendary coaches to leave their beloved programs in bad standing.
Some of the most prominent college coaches of the last 50 years have been unable to keep their programs out of trouble late in their careers.
In football, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno fell from the top of the wins list after victories were vacated for various violations.
Many of Calhoun’s fellow legendary basketball coaches struggled to avoid controversy throughout their careers as well. Lefty Driesell (786 wins) was forced out at Maryland after the death of Len Bias. Eddie Sutton (804 wins) admitted to struggles with alcohol. Adolph Rupp (876 wins) was coaching Kentucky during the 1951 point-shaving scandal. The longtime assistant of Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (890 wins), Bernie Fine, was accused of sexual abuse. And Bob Knight (902 wins) had a career filled with questionable antics.
Is it a case that something is bound to go wrong after coaching for so many years? Or are these aging legends unable to adapt to the nuances of the job in today’s more scrutinized college sports environment?
Calhoun’s crowning achievement was turning an unknown basketball program in Storrs, Conn., into a powerhouse in one of the toughest conferences in the country.
The program he leaves in 2012 doesn’t resemble the one he joined in 1986. And the transformation of UConn from also-ran to national champion will define Calhoun’s legacy.
But it also can’t be ignored that another coach is stepping away with sanctions still left to be endured.
Calhoun’s successor, Kevin Ollie, won’t have an NCAA tournament bid in his first season to fuel players or draw recruits.
It’s never easy to follow a legend, especially when he leaves behind a mess.
– Jeffrey Tomik
