Daniel John Tarkanian was born December 18, 1961 in Redlands, California. He is third in a family of four children, having two older sisters and a younger brother. His father, Jerry, was a successful California Junior College coach who went on to obtain his MA in Educational Administration and become one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history.

His mother, Lois Huter Tarkanian, was an educator of handicapped children who went on to become an administrator and earn a PhD degree in Human Behavior. While in California, she started the first private school for the deaf in California, chaired the state's aphasia committee and started one of the first programs for autistic children. Danny spent his younger years in three different California cities (Riverside, Pasadena, Huntington Beach) as his father advanced professionally. He consistently excelled in academics and sports, showing focus and dedication from an early age. Starting in first grade he participated on recreational league teams where he achieved leadership positions and numerous awards.

Danny moved to Nevada in 1973, at the age of 12. He continued to excel in sports and academics at Hyde Park Junior High School. He led his 8th grade basketball team to the City Championship and was inducted into the school's academic honor society. Danny attended Bishop Gorman High School, a private school attended by many of Nevada's future leaders, achieving honors all four years at the school. He was selected as the freshman male student of the year. As a point guard, he took the school's basketball team that had had mediocre success in the past and led them to two straight state championships. He was named All-Conference and All-State each of those years. Bishop Gorman High School has always had a great tradition in football, however it experienced some hard times in the mid 1970's. After one of the school's worse seasons, (2-7 record) Danny was named quarterback, and led the team to its first undefeated season and the State Championship. Two years in a row, Danny was named All-Conference and All-State in football. His senior year he was named the State's Most Valuable Player. In addition, for his performance in the State Championship game, Danny received the national Hertz Number One Award given to the player with the best athletic performance in the State during that year. Danny was the only player ever to be selected as the Most Valuable Player in both the football and basketball all-star games.

Following high school, Danny attended one year of junior college at Dixie State College in Southern Utah. He maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average in the classroom, while leading the school basketball team to the Regional playoffs. He was also honored as male freshman of the year. After one year of junior college, Danny decided to return to Las Vegas and help his father's basketball team which had just experienced its worse season while he was the coach (16-12). By the second year, Danny, as its starting point guard and captain, led the team to 24 straight wins and

the school's first Number One national ranking. Danny's last two teams were both ranked in the top 10 nationally and lost to the eventual National Champions in the NCAA tournament.

Danny was twice named All-Conference and honorable mention All-American. Three years in a row he finished second in the nation in assists. He was twice named First-Team Academic All-American by the NCAA, the first time a student-athlete at UNLV earned such a distinction. He was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1984 draft.

At UNLV, he graduated with high honors and was the school's first Rhodes Scholar candidate. Danny also received the prestigious NCAA post-graduate award, given to the student-athletes that most excel in both the classroom and in athletics.

Upon graduating, Danny decided to attend law school at the University of San Diego.

With no legal background and no family history in law, Danny received the highest grade in each of his 5 courses, including three perfect scores during his first semester. He was named a member of the school's law review and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He finished third in his class of 254 students.

Danny returned to Las Vegas and passed the Nevada Bar exam. He subsequently practiced law for eight years; four as an associate for Cohen, Lee, Johnson and Merialdo and four in his own law firm. During this time period, his father was enjoying unparalleled success as a basketball coach, creating incredible energy, pride and excitement throughout the State of Nevada. He led the UNLV Rebels to four Final Four appearances and the National Championship in 1990. Danny accompanied the team on its trip to the White House and visited with President Bush.

After leaving UNLV, and following a brief retirement, Danny’s father accepted the coaching job at Fresno State, his alma mater. Danny also accompanied him, accepting his father's offer to be one of his assistant coaches. The Tarkanians took over a program that had only two winning seasons and one postseason appearance (NIT) in the previous 10 years. The result was victory in some 200 or more games over 6 straight years and appearances in post-season play every year including two NCAA appearances. During this time period, Danny's mother started her successful political career. She was overwhelmingly elected as a Democrat to the Clark County School Board for 12 straight years. Well-respected by Democrats in the State, she has been a member of the Clark County Central Committee.

After his father retired two years ago, Danny moved back to Las Vegas to make his mark on the community in which he grew up. He started a non-profit youth basketball organization and in a little over a year has seen it grow to over 350 children. Danny also formed a company to process software which would assist students in their preparation for the SAT and ACT tests. In addition, Danny is Vice-president of Operations for a multi-million dollar real estate firm, B and Y Properties.

In October of 2001, Danny married Amy Hanson. The couple have three daughters, Lois, Ashley and Ava.