On the identical day Memphis males’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway instantly fired 4 employees members, the college confirmed the existence of an nameless letter alleging severe NCAA violations inside the Tigers’ program.
Letter alleges Memphis males’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway’s private involvement in potential recruiting, tutorial violations
In response to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, the letter alleges Hardaway’s private involvement in potential recruiting and tutorial violations. Sports activities Illustrated first reported on the letter’s existence.
“The College of Memphis is conscious of the nameless letter, and it has been shared with the NCAA,” college spokesperson Michele Ehrhart mentioned in an announcement to ESPN.
4 student-athletes had been named within the letter: Ashton Hardaway, Jordan Brown, Jahvon Quinerly, and Malcolm Dandridge. All 4 allegedly concerned within the tutorial scandal got funds by way of money app and different strategies.
Two months earlier than the beginning of the faculty basketball season, Hardaway introduced Wednesday morning that he was firing assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips, and Jamie Rosser, together with particular adviser Demetrius Dyson. Neither Hardaway nor the college supplied a cause for the firings.
Previous to Wednesday’s firings, 5 employees members had already left this system this offseason.
Among the many departures was Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch, who left for a similar job at Missouri in April. Memphis then employed Ed Scott from Virginia because the Tigers’ new athletic director in June.
Tigers’ season opener is Nov. 4 towards Missouri
Penny Hardaway, 53, mentioned in an announcement that he “made the tough choice to go in a brand new course with our employees.” The Tigers’ season opener is Nov. 4 towards Missouri.
“The timing will not be best, however I need to give this staff the perfect alternative to achieve our targets of profitable the American Convention and advancing within the NCAA Match,” Hardaway mentioned in an announcement. “With the season quickly approaching, we’re going to transfer shortly to finish the employees.”
It’s unclear whether or not the nameless letter is expounded to the firings. A number of of the alleged violations predate the Memphis tenure of not less than two of the fired assistants. Not one of the fired coaches had been named within the letter.
“The NCAA typically doesn’t touch upon present, pending, or potential investigations,” the NCAA mentioned in an announcement.
Hardaway was suspended three video games by the NCAA final season for recruiting violations, violating teaching duty guidelines
The nameless letter is the newest off-court challenge for Hardaway since being employed at his alma mater in March 2018. There was an NCAA investigation as a consequence of alleged violations involving middle James Wiseman and different recruits.
The Unbiased Accountability Decision Course of (IARP) concluded that Hardaway didn’t violate NCAA guidelines as a consequence of his long-standing philanthropy in Memphis.
Though Hardaway was cleared of any wrongdoing, the college was not.
Memphis confronted three years of probation, a $5,000 fantastic, and a 25 p.c discount of the lads’s basketball price range after the IARP discovered the college responsible of committing 4 Stage II violations and 5 Stage III violations.
Hardaway was additionally suspended three video games by the NCAA final season for recruiting violations and violating head-coaching duty guidelines in a separate investigation.
Towards the top of final season, senior Malcolm Dandridge missed the staff’s ultimate 5 video games. Dandridge was pressured to take a seat out as the college carried out an investigation into his eligibility.
Hardaway is 133-62 (.682) in six seasons with two NCAA Match berths: Spherical of 32 in 2022 and Spherical of 64 in 2023. He coached Memphis to an NIT Championship in 2021 as effectively.
Nonetheless, the Tigers missed the NCAA Match final season regardless of going 22-10 (.688).
