Memphis shares letter alleging violations to NCAA as Penny Hardaway fires 4 people

Memphis coach Penny Hardaway fired three assistants and a staff member two months before the Tigers' season opener, and the university also confirmed officials shared an anonymous letter alleging multiple violations in his program with the NCAA.

Hardaway announced Wednesday morning that assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser, and special advisor Demetrius Dyson were gone. Hardaway called it a “difficult decision” to go in a new direction with the season opener against Missouri on Nov. 4.

“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.”

Then it got worse Wednesday night when SI.com reported the university knew of an anonymous letter alleging Hardaway's personal involvement in recruiting players and academic violations.

"The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter, and it has been shared with the NCAA," Memphis spokeswoman Michele Ehrhart confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday.

Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch left for the same job at Missouri in April. Memphis hired Ed Scott from Virginia as the Tigers' new athletic director in June.

Hardaway has been in trouble with the NCAA more than once since being hired as head coach at his alma mater in March 2018. The two-time All-American was a four-time NBA All-Star after being the No. 3 overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft.

He is 133-62 in six seasons with two NCAA Tournament berths. The Tigers missed the tournament last season despite going 22-10. They won the 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament, earning the automatic berth that year.

An NCAA infractions panel suspended Hardaway for three games to start last season for recruiting violations tied to two in-home visits with a prospect two years ago. That followed a negotiated resolution in December 2022 that allowed Memphis to resolve the case and begin probation while one individual challenged the level of charges from the allegations.

That was Hardaway, who was charged under rules governing head-coach responsibility for conduct within their programs.

Memphis also dealt with a separate NCAA probe from 2019 tied to the recruitment and very short college stay of one-and-done center James Wiseman, who moved from Nashville to Memphis to play for Hardaway in high school. Wiseman played only three games before the NCAA investigation was announced.

That case ultimately led to the NCAA punishing Memphis with three years of probation, a public reprimand and a fine but without a postseason ban or individual punishment for Hardaway.

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Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press