Word: unlv
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...UNLV, which was put on probation in the late 1970s for NCAA transgressions, is one of the superpowers of college basketball. In a city that worships winners, "Tark the Shark" Tarkanian is a patron saint, with the highest winning percentage (82%) in the sport. Along with that come use of a Cadillac, a base salary of $173,855 and a percentage of postseason revenues that could reach $80,000. (UNLV President Robert Maxson's salary is $123,500.) Tarkanian also has an endorsement contract with Nike shoes, a promotional arrangement with a Vegas nightclub and a sporting-goods store...
...some ways UNLV goes further than many schools to fend off corruption. It falls to Warkentien, now assistant to the athletic director, to keep the players out of trouble. "I'm the damn cop, but it's an impossible job," he groans. Warkentien, ever on the lookout for illegal gifts from boosters, examines every player's monthly rent check and car titles. But in other ways the university is less vigilant. For example, school officials have formal arrangements with Las Vegas-strip casino restaurants allowing players to charge one training meal...
What makes student athletes especially vulnerable to temptation is that many consider themselves underpaid professionals who deserve whatever comes their way. "Once you get out on the floor, it's a job, and you expect to get paid," says former UNLV player Eldridge Hudson. "If a kid is busting his ass on the court, if somebody wants to buy him a car, let him have it." Hudson always hoped to share his good fortune with his family. "Me being a star, I thought my mother deserved a Mercedes." While in school, Hudson said, he had a private apartment and drove...
Like student athletes at many other schools, UNLV's players often arrive on campus with severe reading problems, poor study skills and swollen egos. They practice as much as four hours a day, seven days a week, and miss 30 to 40 days of classes because of road games. During their absence, notetakers are hired to attend class for them. All players are required to attend a two-hour study hall after practice, but some are so exhausted they can barely keep their eyes open. UNLV's graduation rate is better than that of many schools, although only...
Many former UNLV players ultimately work as slot-machine hosts, casino bosses and maitre d's on the Vegas strip. Tarkanian says sometimes casino operators tell him which players they want to hire even before graduation. Says the coach: "We tell the kids if they keep their noses clean, this town will take care of them. They all stay here. Nobody ever leaves...