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An anonymous letter has accused Memphis men’s basketball head coach Penny Hardaway of major NCAA infractions, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.
“The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter, and it has been shared with the NCAA,” university spokesperson Michele Ehrhart told ESPN.
The confirmation of the letter comes a day after Hardaway announced he was firing assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser and special adviser Demetrius Dyson.
Borzello noted that it was unclear whether the letter and those dismissals were in any way connected—though the timing is certainly suspect—and that none of the fired coaches were named in the letter. A number of the allegations also predated two of the relieved assistants.
The letter alleged “Hardaway’s personal involvement in potential recruiting and academic violations.”
It isn’t the first time Hardaway and the Tigers have come under scrutiny.
The head coach was suspended three games last season for both recruiting and head-coaching responsibility violations, while senior Malcolm Dandridge was held out of the final five games of the regular season amidst an internal investigation into his eligibility.
In 2022, Memphis was investigated by the NCAA for a number of potential recruiting violations, though Hardaway was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing. The school was not, however, and faced three years of probation, a $5,000 fine and a 0.25 percent reduction of their men’s basketball budget after the Independent Accountability Resolution Process found them guilty of committing four Level II violations and five Level III violations.
“The hearing panel concluded that the head coach’s philanthropic involvement in the Memphis community began prior to becoming an athletics booster in 2008 and before he was hired by Memphis as its head coach in 2018,” the IARP said in a statement at the time.
“Based on the case record and information developed at the hearing, the hearing panel found that the benefits provided by the head coach to the three prospective student-athletes were not recruiting inducements,” the statement added. “According to the hearing panel, it was established that the head coach had a long-standing philanthropic commitment, particularly to youth in the economically disadvantaged Memphis community, even prior to becoming an athletics booster.”
