University of Memphis acknowledges letter alleging major NCAA violations by basketball program

The University of Memphis is aware of an anonymous letter alleging the men’s basketball program has committed multiple potential major NCAA violations in recent years.

“The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter and it has been turned over to the NCAA,” university spokeswoman Michele Earheart said in a statement provided to The Commercial Appeal late Wednesday.

News of the letter’s existence comes the same day the athletic department announced multiple members of Penny Hardaway’s coaching staff (Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips, Jamie Rosser and Demetrius Dyson) were being let go two months before the 2024-25 regular season tips off.

It is not immediately clear whether there is any correlation between the letter’s existence and the recent personnel moves.

The claims within the letter − which has been obtained by The Commercial Appeal but have not been independently corroborated − detail Hardaway’s alleged involvement in what could be significant violations in 2020, regarding the recruitment of a former Memphis player, and a second student-athlete who signed with the Tigers in 2022, but never played in a game for the team.

The letter also alleges academic violations involving multiple players were committed during the 2023-24 season. Former Tiger Malcolm Dandridge was withheld from competition for the final five games of that season as the school looked into a potential issue with his eligibility status. Sources told The Commercial Appeal in February the circumstances of Dandridge’s situation involved academics. In March, The Commercial Appeal reported the school fired former men’s basketball academic advisor Leslie Brooks the day before it announced Dandridge was being withheld from games.

Last month, new Memphis athletic director Ed Scott told The Commercial Appeal the school self-reported its findings to the NCAA.

The Memphis men’s basketball program has not been a stranger to the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in recent years.

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In 2022, following a years-long infractions investigation (adjudicated via the now-defunct Independent Accountability Resolution Process), the program was charged with committing four Level II violations and five Level III violations during a saga that began with its handling of James Wiseman’s eligibility status in 2019. While the NCAA’s initial notice of allegations identified at least four Level I violations (the most serious), Memphis and Hardaway avoided significant sanctions − although, the program was placed on three years’ probation.

In 2023, Hardaway was slapped with a three-game suspension, which he served during the 2023-24 season, stemming from two impermissible in-home visits in 2021 with a recruit from Dallas during his junior year of high school. The NCAA also added an extra year of probation.

The Tigers are set to open the regular season against Missouri (Nov. 4) at FedExForum.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis acknowledges letter alleging major violations by basketball program