Uploaded March 2012 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
CCNY's NCAA college basketball finals run is known as the origin of the "Cinderella Story." CCNY was later charged with a scandal that would damage their program forever.
On March 28, 1950, the City College of New York made history by being the first team to win both the NIT tournament and NCAA tournament in the same year. These victories would also prove to be the first and last that CCNY would experience at the division I level. In January of 1951, an undercover sting operation was conducted that found three stars from the 1950 CCNY basketball team guilty of point shaving. Point shaving occurs when players are paid to ensure that the gambling spread is not met.
As a result, CCNY was banned from playing at Madison Square Garden and chose to drop their athletic program down to the division III level. What was once known as the greatest championship run in NCAA basketball history, resulting in the coining of the phrase "Cinderella Story," would later become one of the biggest scandals in college sports with over 33 players involved and many notorious organized crime figureheads in New York.
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CCNY's NCAA college basketball finals run is known as the origin of the "Cinderella Story." CCNY was later charged with a scandal that would damage their program forever.
On March 28, 1950, the City College of New York made history by being the first team to win both the NIT tournament and NCAA tournament in the same year. These victories would also prove to be the first and last that CCNY would experience at the division I level. In January of 1951, an undercover sting operation was conducted that found three stars from the 1950 CCNY basketball team guilty of point shaving. Point shaving occurs when players are paid to ensure that the gambling spread is not met.
As a result, CCNY was banned from playing at Madison Square Garden and chose to drop their athletic program down to the division III level. What was once known as the greatest championship run in NCAA basketball history, resulting in the coining of the phrase "Cinderella Story," would later become one of the biggest scandals in college sports with over 33 players involved and many notorious organized crime figureheads in New York.
For more History's Playlist visit and subscribe!
youtube.com/user/HistorysPlaylist?feature=mhee
Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with our newest videos:
twitter.com/#!/HistoryPlaylist
