On the same day Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway suddenly fired four staff members, the university confirmed the existence of an anonymous letter alleging serious NCAA violations within the Tigers’ program.
Letter alleges Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway’s personal involvement in potential recruiting, academic violations
According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, the letter alleges Hardaway’s personal involvement in potential recruiting and academic violations. Sports Illustrated first reported on the letter’s existence.
“The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter, and it has been shared with the NCAA,” university spokesperson Michele Ehrhart said in a statement to ESPN.
Four student-athletes were named in the letter: Ashton Hardaway, Jordan Brown, Jahvon Quinerly, and Malcolm Dandridge. All four allegedly involved in the academic scandal were given payments via cash app and other methods.
Two months before the start of the college basketball season, Hardaway announced Wednesday morning that he was firing assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips, and Jamie Rosser, along with special adviser Demetrius Dyson. Neither Hardaway nor the school provided a reason for the firings.
Prior to Wednesday’s firings, five staff members had already left the program this offseason.
Among the departures was Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch, who left for the same job at Missouri in April. Memphis then hired Ed Scott from Virginia as the Tigers’ new athletic director in June.
Tigers’ season opener is Nov. 4 against Missouri
Penny Hardaway, 53, said in a statement that he “made the difficult decision to go in a new direction with our staff.” The Tigers’ season opener is Nov. 4 against Missouri.
“The timing is not ideal, but I want to give this team the best opportunity to reach our goals of winning the American Conference and advancing in the NCAA Tournament,” Hardaway said in a statement. “With the season rapidly approaching, we are going to move quickly to complete the staff.”
It’s unclear whether the anonymous letter is related to the firings. A few of the alleged violations predate the Memphis tenure of at least two of the fired assistants. None of the fired coaches were named in the letter.
“The NCAA generally doesn’t comment on current, pending, or potential investigations,” the NCAA said in a statement.
Hardaway was suspended three games by the NCAA last season for recruiting violations, violating coaching responsibility rules
The anonymous letter is the latest off-court issue for Hardaway since being hired at his alma mater in March 2018. There was an NCAA investigation due to alleged violations involving center James Wiseman and other recruits.
The Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) concluded that Hardaway didn’t violate NCAA rules due to his long-standing philanthropy in Memphis.
Although Hardaway was cleared of any wrongdoing, the university was not.
Memphis faced three years of probation, a $5,000 fine, and a 25 percent reduction of the men’s basketball budget after the IARP found the school guilty of committing four Level II violations and five Level III violations.
Hardaway was also suspended three games by the NCAA last season for recruiting violations and violating head-coaching responsibility rules in a separate investigation.
Toward the end of last season, senior Malcolm Dandridge missed the team’s final five games. Dandridge was forced to sit out as the school conducted an investigation into his eligibility.
Hardaway is 133-62 (.682) in six seasons with two NCAA Tournament berths: Round of 32 in 2022 and Round of 64 in 2023. He coached Memphis to an NIT Championship in 2021 as well.
Nonetheless, the Tigers missed the NCAA Tournament last season despite going 22-10 (.688).
