When the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team starts their 2023-2024 season next November, it will be without head coach Penny Hardaway for the program’s first three games.
The NCAA announced on Wednesday that Hardaway has been suspended for the first three games of the season due to NCAA violations. According to a report released by the NCAA, Hardaway made two in-person home visits with a prospective prospect prior to the time it was permissible to do so including one visit that was posted online by the family of the recruit which was brought to the attention of the NCAA. After a self-investigation, Memphis self-reported the violation.
“The suspension shall be served during the first three games of the regular season in the 2023-24 academic year,” the report says. “During the period of suspension, the head coach is prohibited from performing all coaching and recruiting activities and may not have any contact with members of his men’s basketball staff, student-athletes or prospective student-athletes.”
This past season, Memphis went 26-9 including 13-5 in American Athletic Conference play while earning a second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament after missing each tournament from 2015 through 2021. The program will be entering its sixth season under Penny Hardaway next fall. Through his first five seasons with the program, he has collected a 111-52 record, winning 20+ games in each season.