Why Did Jerry Tarkanian Leave UNLV? Jerry Tarkanian Mafia Mob Connections, and Controversy Explained

Jerry Tarkanian was the coach of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas when the National Collegiate Athletic Association suspended him from the team in 1977. (NCAA). He did not, however, leave UNLV; instead, he fought the NCAA and remained to coach.

Similarly, right before the 1976–1977 season, the NCAA placed UNLV on two years probation for questionable procedures, and this was before Tarkanina was UNLV’s coach.

Jerry filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging that they had violated his right to due process, and in 1977, a Nevada judge issued an injunction, restoring Jerry as their coach. The issue went to the United States Supreme Court, which overturned the injunction and found that the NCAA had the authority to sanction its member schools.

But after a decade, it came into the limelight that the decision by the Supreme court was highly in the NCAA’s favor. Similarly, Tarkanins also claimed that NCAA has harassed him for over two decades. NCAA did not admit to harassment, but they paid him $2.5 million and settled the case.

Jerry Tarkanian was a close friend to Vic Weiss who was a west coast mob associate. It seems he did not have any mafia or mob connections, but his friend Vic had mob connections due, to which Jerry was also grasped into the controversy.

His friend Vic Wess was found missing and then found murdered brutally, just after he had made deal with the Laker’s Jerry Buss regarding Tarkanian’s deal of being Laker’s coach.

The Vic Murder case has not been solved completely but there were many assumptions and accusations with further investigations, it was found that his connections with the mob and the debt he had left to be paid to make him pay his life in the end.

Jerry Tarkanian was the almost coach of the 1980s Lakers Dynasty, but things didn’t go as it would have planned as he couldn’t sign the deal with Lakers after his friend Vic was found murdered violently in the trunk of his car.

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A new episode of #WinningTime is streaming now on @HBOMax pic.twitter.com/nHKkoHUNjw

— Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (@winningtimehbo) March 21, 2022

In the recent episode of Winning Time, the murder case and the connection of Jerry and Vic have been brought back into the limelight. Many people have been reminded of this past case and are utterly shocked to find the drama living par their expectations.