Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway fired a trio of assistant coaches, and one additional staff member, according to a team announcement on Wednesday morning.
Moving on from a coaching staff after a disappointing season is one thing, but doing so in September – when the practice period begins in less than three weeks – is a sign things are not going well for the Tigers.
That was confirmed by a report from Pat Forde at Sports Illustrated on Wednesday evening, detailing the existence of an anonymous letter which alleges widespread potential rules violations at Memphis – a letter which the university confirms has been passed along to the NCAA.
“The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter and it has been turned over to the NCAA,” university spokeswoman Michele Ehrhart said in an email to Sports Illustrated on Wednesday. “That is all we can say on the matter.”
It’s unclear at this point if the four firings and this letter are related, but no reason was given for the firings, which came at a time in the offseason where hiring new coaches is far more difficult.
The letter alleges Hardaway, who is entering his seventh season at Memphis, is personally involved in the recruitment of a player who came to Memphis and a second prospect who ultimately did not enroll. The letter claims the violations occurred in 2020 and 2022, and also claims academic violations occurred in 2023-24 as well.
This is not the first time Hardaway and Memphis have come under fire. There was an 18-month investigation into Hardaway’s recruitment of James Wiseman, who was ultimately suspended 12 games and left the school before the suspension was up. While Hardaway was ultimately found not to have violated NCAA rules, the school was still put on probation.
Last year Hardaway served a three game suspension for recruiting violations, and one of his players, Malcolm Dandridge, missed the last five games of the season while the school investigated his eligibility.
All the off court drama is coupled with the simple fact that Hardaway has only made the NCAA Tournament twice in his six seasons with the Tigers, winning a game in 2022 against Boise State before falling to Gonzaga in the Round of 32.
With limited on court success, significant noise off the court, and massive roster and coaching turnover year over year, the Hardaway experiment in Memphis may be nearing an end.