Anonymous letter alleges widespread NCAA violations at Memphis

Yeah, something’s definitely going down at Memphis. Less than 24 hours after Penny Hardaway fired four staffers, including lead assistant Rick Stansbury, Memphis confirmed the existence of an anonymous letter alleging widespread potential NCAA violations in the men’s basketball program.

Pat Forde broke the news last night. The letter alleges major recruiting violations in the 2020 and 2022 seasons involving Hardaway and a player who came to Memphis and another who did not. It also alleges academic violations during the 2023-24 school year. It’s unknown whether these allegations are related to yesterday’s staff dismissals.

“The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter and it has been turned over to the NCAA,” university spokeswoman Michele Ehrhart said in an email to Sports Illustrated. “That is all we can say on the matter.”

On Wednesday morning, Hardaway confirmed the departures of Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips, Jamie Rosser, and special advisor Demetrius Dyson. Player development assistant Jermain Johnson was also let go. Over the summer, five other staffers parted ways with the program.

“I want to thank Rick, Faragi, Jamie, and Demetrius for their service to the University of Memphis and our basketball program. 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. 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 to the NCAA Tournament. With the season rapidly approaching, we are going to move quickly to complete the staff.”

Of course, this is not the first time Penny’s program has been in hot water. The program was put on a three-year probation and fined $5,000 after an 18-month NCAA investigation into the recruitment of James Wiseman in 2019. Hardaway allegedly paid Wiseman and his family $11,500 to move to Memphis while he was in high school; however, the now-shuttered Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) concluded that Hardaway didn’t violate NCAA rules because of his history of philanthropy in the city. Last year, Hardway was suspended three games by the NCAA for recruiting violations and violating head-coach responsibility rules in a separate investigation.

The latest news comes ahead of a make-or-break season for Penny and the Tigers. Memphis missed the NCAA Tournament last season after back-to-back appearances in 2022 and 2023. The Tigers started the season strong, winning 15 of their first 17 games and cracking the Top 25, but lost eight of their final 15 games to finish 22-10. Memphis only has one returning scholarship player, Nick Jourdain. Former Tulsa guard PJ Haggerty and Ole Miss center Moussa Cisse headline Memphis’ hefty haul from the transfer portal.