On the identical day Memphis males’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway abruptly fired 4 workers 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, educational violations
In response to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, the letter alleges Hardaway’s private involvement in potential recruiting and educational 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 a press release 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 educational scandal got funds through 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 varsity offered a motive for the firings.
Previous to Wednesday’s firings, 5 workers 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 in opposition to Missouri
Penny Hardaway, 53, mentioned in a press release that he “made the troublesome choice to go in a brand new course with our workers.” The Tigers’ season opener is Nov. 4 in opposition to Missouri.
“The timing will not be preferrred, however I wish to give this group the perfect alternative to achieve our targets of successful the American Convention and advancing within the NCAA Event,” Hardaway mentioned in a press release. “With the season quickly approaching, we’re going to transfer rapidly to finish the workers.”
It’s unclear whether or not the nameless letter is said to the firings. A couple of of the alleged violations predate the Memphis tenure of at the very least 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 a press release.
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 situation for Hardaway since being employed at his alma mater in March 2018. There was an NCAA investigation on account of alleged violations involving heart James Wiseman and different recruits.
The Impartial Accountability Decision Course of (IARP) concluded that Hardaway didn’t violate NCAA guidelines on account 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 high-quality, and a 25 p.c discount of the lads’s basketball price range after the IARP discovered the varsity 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 group’s last 5 video games. Dandridge was compelled to sit down out as the varsity carried out an investigation into his eligibility.
Hardaway is 133-62 (.682) in six seasons with two NCAA Event berths: Spherical of 32 in 2022 and Spherical of 64 in 2023. He coached Memphis to an NIT Championship in 2021 as nicely.
Nonetheless, the Tigers missed the NCAA Event final season regardless of going 22-10 (.688).
