SANTA BARBARA, Calif.  —  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 was booked and released but did not have details.

Connors could not be reached for comment early Saturday. He lives in the Santa Barbara area and attends a handful of the Gauchos' games each season.

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