Dick Tarrant

Dick Tarrant (born August 4, 1931) was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Richmond[1] from 1981 through 1993. Tarrant, led the Spiders to five NCAA Tournament and four NIT berths in his twelve seasons as head coach—the first postseason appearances in school history.[2]

Dick Tarrant

Current position
Title	Head coach
Biographical details
Born	(1931-08-04) August 4, 1931 Jersey City, New Jersey
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1978–1981	Richmond (asst.)
1981–1993	Richmond
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
4× CAA Coach of the Year (1984, 1986, 1989, 1991)

Tarrant was raised in Englewood, New Jersey.[3] He attended St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, where his basketball coach was Vince Lombardi.[4]

Under Tarrant, the Spiders gained a reputation as giant killers. In their first NCAA appearance, in 1984, they upended an Auburn team led by Charles Barkley in the first round. In 1988, they defeated defending national champion Indiana and Georgia Tech to advance to the Sweet Sixteen—the deepest run by a Colonial Athletic Association team at the time—before losing to Temple. In 1991, Tarrant led the 15th seed Spiders to an upset win over second-seeded Syracuse—the first time that a 15th seed had made it out of the first round.

In 2013, Tarrant was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.[5] In 2015, Richmond named the playing surface at the Robins Center "Dick Tarrant Court" in Tarrant's honor.[3] He left Richmond as far and away the winningest coach in school history, though he has since been passed by current coach Chris Mooney.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Richmond (ECAC South/CAA) (1981–1993)
1981–82	Richmond	18–11	6–4	2nd	NIT First Round
1982–83	Richmond	12–16	2–7	6th
1983–84	Richmond	22–10	7–3	1st	NCAA Second Round
1984–85	Richmond	21–11	11–3	T-1st	NIT Second Round
1985–86	Richmond	23–7	12–2	2nd	NCAA First Round
1986–87	Richmond	15–14	8–6	3rd
1987–88	Richmond	26–7	11–3	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1988–89	Richmond	21–10	13–1	1st	NIT Second Round
1989–90	Richmond	22–10	10–4	T-2nd	NCAA First Round
1990–91	Richmond	22–10	10–4	2nd	NCAA Second Round
1991–92	Richmond	22–8	12–2	T-1st	NIT First Round
1992–93	Richmond	15–12	10–4	3rd
Richmond:		239–126	112–43
Total:		239–126
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

References

1. Feinstein, John (12 December 1988). "Into The Limelight". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
2. Iannazzone, Al (14 September 2010). "Former coach Dick Tarrant keeping a hand in hoops". North Jersey. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
3. Staff. "Richmond to name Robins Center hardwood after coach Dick Tarrant", NCAA, July 30, 2015. Accessed August 12, 2016. "A native of Englewood, New Jersey, Tarrant came to Richmond as an assistant coach in 1978, and he became head coach in 1981."
4. Vecsey, George. [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/20/sports/sports-of-the-times-a-portrait-of-a-late-blooming-coach.html The New York Times, March 20, 1988. Accessed December 17, 2019. "He played basketball for Vince Lombardi and he scouted for Bobby Knight, and now he has defeated Knight as a coach.... Tarrant was a Jersey guy before Bruce Springsteen made it fashionable. His odyssey began in the modest gymnasium of St. Cecilia High in Englewood, where his coach was a rugged former football lineman from Fordham."
5. "Coach Tarrant Elected To Virginia Sports Hall Of Fame". Richmond Spiders. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2014.