What was the 1951 college basketball scandal about?

Answer 1

CITY DUMP: THE STORY OF THE 1951 CCNY BASKETBALL SCANDAL examines one of the most notorious incidents in college basketball history, when seven members of the City College of New York (CCNY) basketball team conspired with gamblers to fix games over two seasons (1949-51).

The CCNY basketball team of 1949-51 consisted of an extraordinary collection of players guided by venerable coach Nat Holman, with the 1949-50 Beavers becoming the first and only team ever to win both the NIT and NCAA championship titles in the same season. Prompted by this success, college basketball soared in popularity, as New York's Madison Square Garden emerged as the mecca of college hoops.

Spearheading CCNY's meteoric rise in basketball were New York high school products Ed Roman, Herb Cohen, Al Roth, Floyd Lane, Norm Mager, Ed Warner and Irwin Dambrot. In its penultimate season of 1949-50, the squad rolled to seven consecutive post-season victories and two titles, overcoming the likes of Kentucky, San Francisco, Ohio State and Bradley.

A year later, the players, the program and New York City major college basketball were all in turmoil. Each of the CCNY seven would eventually be charged with taking money to fix games. College basketball in New York was forever changed.

Answer 2

Point shaving.