I'm Outta Here! 5 College Coaches Who Left Their School On Probation

LOU HOLTZ
TEAMS: 1985 Minnesota Gophers to 1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
DAMAGE DONE: After going 6-5 during the 1985 season, the Gophers were invited to the Independence Bowl. Lou was nowhere to be found, however, because he had already agreed to become the head coach of Notre Dame (he was able to do this under the "Notre Dame" clause in his contract which allowed him to leave immediately if the top job there became available). The Gophers went on to win the Independence Bowl without Holtz but were placed on probation six years later for two infractions committed by Holtz, including paying an unidentified players' course so that he could remain NCAA eligible. The Gophers were banned from a bowl game in '91, meanwhile Holtz led Notre Dame to a 39-28 win over Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

LARRY BROWN
TEAMS: 1988 Kansas Jayhawks to 1988 San Antonio Spurs
DAMAGE DONE: After leading KU to the '88 national championship, "Travelin'" Larry Brown packed his bags and took the top job with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. LB had a rough first year in Texas, going 21-61 and finishing last in the Midwest Division (a losing record that would prove fortuitous since the Spurs were able to select David Robinson with the first pick in the draft the following year). Unfortunately, the Jayhawks had an even worse seson, as they were banned from defending their title due to recruiting infractions committed during Brown's tenure, the first time a school was prohibited from going for a repeat.

DENNIS ERICKSON
TEAMS: 1994 Miami Hurricanes to 1995 Seattle Seahawks
DAMAGE DONE: Erickson not only led the 'Canes to two national championships in the five years he was with Miami, but also coached the most badass college football team of all-time. Unfortunately that badass resulted in NCAA infractions and the school being put on three years probation after a financial aide office staff worker admitted to paying players out of the national Pell Grant fund. Erickson promptly headed west to the take the head coaching job of the Seattle Seahawks, while UM suffered through some of its worst seasons since becoming "the U."

RICK NEUHEISEL
TEAMS: 1998 Colorado Buffaloes to 1999 Washington Huskies
DAMAGE DONE: While at Colorado, Neuheisel's gully recruiting tactics earned him the nickname "Slick Rick." With 51 rules violations in the three years he coached there, Colorado was stripped of five scholarships and placed on two years probation. By the time Colorado was punished for the recruiting violations, Slick Rick had been the head coach of the Huskies for two years (this was of course before he got fired from UW for another set of violations).

JOHN CALIPARI
TEAMS: 1996 Massachusetts Minutemen to 1996 New Jersey Nets and 2009 Memphis Tigers to 2009 Kentucky Wildcats
DAMAGE DONE: Coach Cal is in the High-Step-It-Out-Of-Town Hall of Fame for leaving not one, but two college programs in tatters. Calipari led the Tigers to the 2008 NCAA championship game but that seasons' accomplishments were erased when it was revealed that star point guard Derrick Rose's SAT scores were fudged to get him into the university. Four days after the end of the 2009 season, Calipari signed with Kentucky. Even though he has been technically cleared of any wrongdoing, oddly enough, the exact same thing happened to Calipari at his previous college coaching gig at UMass, when the Minutemen's 1996 Final Four appearance was vacated after it was revealed that star forward Marcus Camby had been lavished with jewelry and prostitutes by an agent. You know the saying: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, yo, look the eff out Wildcat fans!