Sports Feuds Over the Years

In 1988, both the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois were going after top high school basketball prospect Deon Thomas. Pearl, then an assistant coach at Iowa, recorded a phone conversation in which Thomas admitted to accepting an SUV and cash from Illinois assistant coach Jimmy Collins. Pearl turned the tapes over to the NCAA, but both Thomas and Collins were found innocent. The feud, however, was sealed, and the two refused to participate in postgame handshakes as coaches in the Horizon League.