Richard Joseph Tarrant Jr. (born September 15, 1928) was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Richmond[1] from 1981 through 1993.

Tarrant, led the Spiders to five NCAA tournament and four NIT berths in his twelve seasons as head coach—the first postseason appearances in school history.

[3] He attended St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, where his basketball coach was Vince Lombardi.

In 1988, they defeated defending national champion Indiana and Georgia Tech to advance to the Sweet Sixteen—the deepest run by a Colonial Athletic Association team at the time—before losing to Temple.

[3] He left Richmond as the winningest coach in school history, though he has since been passed by Chris Mooney.