Jerry Tarkanian

Who is Jerry Tarkanian?

Jerry Esther Tarkanian, also known as "Tark the Shark", is a retired college basketball coach known as one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history. He is also well known for his colorful behavior, including habitually chewing on a towel during games, and for his public criticisms and legendary clashes with the NCAA, which eventually paid Tarkanian the largest settlement in NCAA history.

Tarkanian coached at Long Beach State, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and Fresno State University in his college career. He also coached the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association for twenty games during the 1992-93 NBA season.

With a 729–201 career coaching record across all college divisions, Tarkanian is in the top 21 for collegiate wins among all men's coaches. Only four other coaches have a higher winning percentage. He is also one of few college coaches to lead three different schools to 20-win seasons. He accomplished a 20-win season at each school in his first year.