One day after coach Penny Hardaway fired four members of his staff, Memphis confirmed the existence of an anonymous letter that alleges the men’s basketball program committed major recruiting and academic infractions.
“The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter, and it has been shared with the NCAA,” Memphis spokesperson Michele Ehrhart said in a statement to multiple outlets.
The letter is purported to outline Hardaway’s personal involvement in the NCAA violations.
It’s not yet clear how those allegations may be connected to Hardaway’s sudden decision to fire assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser and special adviser Demetrius Dyson with two months to go before the start of the 2024-25 season.
“These are good coaches that I’ve worked with closely over the past few seasons, but I made the difficult decision to go in a new direction with our staff,” Hardaway said in a statement Wednesday. “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. With the season rapidly approaching, we are going to move quickly to complete the staff.”
Hardaway, who starred as a player at Memphis from 1991-93, has not addressed Thursday’s developments as of yet.
Hardaway, 53, has led Memphis to just two NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons since taking the reins at his alma mater in 2018-19.
His tenure also has included multiple NCAA investigations into alleged recruiting violations, and he was suspended for the first three games of the 2023-24 season.
–Field Level Media
