Richard Joseph Tarrant Jr. (born September 15, 1928) was the head men's basketball coach at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

from 1981 through 1993. Tarrant, led the

Spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

to five NCAA tournament and four NIT berths in his twelve seasons as head coach—the first postseason appearances in school history. Tarrant was raised in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

.Staff
"Richmond to name Robins Center hardwood after coach Dick Tarrant"

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, 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." He attended St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, where his basketball coach was

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

. Under Tarrant, the Spiders gained a reputation as giant killers. In their first NCAA appearance, in 1984, they upended an

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

team led by

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Natio ...

in the first round. In 1988, they defeated defending national champion

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

to advance to the Sweet Sixteen—the deepest run by a

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

team at the time—before losing to

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. In 1991, Tarrant led the 15th seed Spiders to an upset win over second-seeded

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

—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 The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

. In 2015, Richmond named the playing surface at the

Robins Center The Robins Center is a 7,201-seat multi-purpose arena in Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map ...

"Dick Tarrant Court" in Tarrant's honor. He left Richmond as the winningest coach in school history, though he has since been passed by current coach Chris Mooney.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarrant, Dick 1931 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New Jersey College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Fordham Rams men's basketball coaches Fordham Rams men's basketball players High school basketball coaches in the United States Sportspeople from Englewood, New Jersey Basketball players from Bergen County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey St. Cecilia High School (New Jersey) alumni Richmond Spiders men's basketball coaches