Kirk built the Tigers into a national powerhouse with teams built around Memphis-area players. However, he only graduated six out of 60 scholarship players in seven years, including only two on the celebrated 1985 team. Only a year after the Final Four appearance, it was revealed that Memphis State had committed many severe recruiting violations while Kirk was head coach. In addition, Kirk himself was arrested on felony charges following an investigation.
Indictment In 1986, the NCAA forced Memphis State to vacate all of their NCAA tournament appearances from 1982 through 1985, including its Final Four run. Kirk was indicted by a federal
grand jury on 11 counts of tax evasion, filing false income tax returns, mail fraud and obstruction of justice. At his trial, witnesses testified that he
scalped tickets for as much as five times face value, took money from boosters to give to players and actively solicited
kickbacks from tournament promoters. He served four months in a federal minimum-security prison in
Montgomery, Alabama. After serving out his sentence, he returned to Memphis where he hosted a sports talk show on
WHBQ. He has also published his autobiography
Simply Amazing, The Dana Kirk Story, written with Dallas talk show host and columnist
Mark Davis, who was at WHBQ at the time. ==Retirement==