Jerry Tarkanian

Built Nevada-Las Vegas into a national powerhouse in college basketball with an insatiable will to win, created the persona of Tark the Shark and ignited a long-running feud with the N.C.A.A. over accusations that he ran outlaw programs at three universities. He went on to play basketball for Fresno State, in a city with a large population of Armenian descent, graduating in 1955. He coached high school and junior college basketball in California before becoming Long Beach State’s coach in 1968. He took it to the N.C.A.A. tournament four times in his five seasons there. The N.C.A.A began investigating Tarkanian for recruiting violations while he was at Long Beach State and placed it on probation for rule-breaking 10 months after he had left for U.N.L.V. In 1977, the N.C.A.A. placed U.N.L.V. on probation for rule-breaking, barred it from postseason play for two seasons and ordered the university to suspend Tarkanian for two years. He sued and remained the coach while the case dragged on. The Supreme Court ruled against Tarkanian in 1988, but he remained at U.N.L.V., reaching a settlement that imposed further penalties on his program. His second suit, brought in 1992, after he had left U.N.L.V., was settled in April 1998 when the N.C.A.A. paid him $2.5 million. The agreement avoided a state court trial in Las Vegas, where he was immensely popular. Tarkanian was named coach of the Spurs in 1992 but was fired after going 9-11. Tarkanian returned to coaching at Fresno State in 1995. He produced winning teams and then retired for good after the 2001-2 season. The N.C.A.A. put the university’s basketball program on probation in September 2003 for past violations involving academic fraud, recruiting and eligibility. Tarkanian stayed in Las Vegas during his retirement and opened a basketball academy. In addition to his wife and his son Danny, who played for him at U.N.L.V., his survivors include another son, George; his daughters Pamela Tarkanian and Jodie Diamant; a sister, Alice; a brother, Myron; and 11 grandchildren.