Jimmy Connors Arrested

SANTA BARBARA, California — Tennis great Jimmy Connors was arrested outside the campus arena where UC Santa Barbara and top-ranked North Carolina were playing a basketball game.

The eight-time Grand Slam champion was taken into custody Friday night after refusing to comply with an order to leave an area near the entrance of the Thunderdome following a confrontation, police Sgt. Dan Massey said in a statement.

A police dispatcher said Connors was arrested at the beginning of the game.

A Santa Barbara County jail employee said Connors had not been booked as of early Saturday.

Connors lives in the Santa Barbara area and attends a handful of the Gauchos’ games each season.

Connors was ranked No. 1 for five consecutive years in the 1970s, and had a fiery temperament on the court. Earlier this year, he resigned as Andy Roddick’s coach after working together for nearly two years.