Memphis Submits Letter Alleging Major Infringements in Men's Basketball to NCAA

Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway abruptly dismissed four staff members last Tuesday and the university confirmed an anonymous letter which alleged serious NCAA violations within her program.
Memphis Men’s Basketball Coach Penny Hardaway could allegedly have played an active role in any potential recruitment or academic violations at Memphis University. According to The Letter, Penny Hardaway may also have personally committed any potential violations herself.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported on an anonymous letter alleging Hardaway of personal involvement with possible recruiting and academic violations, according to Sports Illustrated who first revealed its existence.
“The University of Memphis is aware of an anonymous letter, and has shared it with NCAA,” university spokesperson Michele Ehrhart stated in an ESPN statement.
Four student athletes were identified in the letter as being involved with academic fraud: Ashton Hardaway, Jordan Brown, Jahvon Quinerly and Malcolm Dandridge were named – each receiving payments via cash app or other methods allegedly related to academic scandal.
Hardaway announced Wednesday morning, prior to the start of college basketball season, he would fire assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser as well as special adviser Demetrius Dyson without providing an explanation as to the reasons.
Before Wednesday’s firings, five staffers had already parted ways with Memphis this offseason, including Laird Veatch who left to become athletic director at Missouri in April and then Virginia native Ed Scott was hired in June as their replacement athletic director.
Penny Hardaway, 53, released a statement explaining he “made the difficult decision” to pursue new leadership for Missouri Tigers football club starting Nov 4th against Tigers season opener against Arkansas at Tiger Stadium in Memphis. The season starts off as planned against Missouri.
Hardaway explained his reasoning by noting: “While the timing may not be ideal, my goal is to give this team every advantage in reaching our goals of winning the American Conference and qualifying for NCAA Tournament,” as soon as season rapidly approaching and complete staff quickly.
No indication has been provided as to whether this anonymous letter relates directly to any recent Memphis firings; some of its allegations predate at least two of those fired assistant coaches’ tenure in Memphis; none were named directly in its contents.
“The NCAA does not comment on current, pending or potential investigations,” according to their statement. Hardaway was suspended three games by the NCAA last season for recruiting violations as well as breaching coaching responsibility rules.
Since his hiring at his alma mater in March 2018 as coach of its basketball program, Hardaway has experienced off-court issues that stemmed from allegations regarding center James Wiseman and other recruits, among them an NCAA investigation regarding possible violations against them.
IARP reached this verdict after carefully considering Hardaway’s longstanding philanthropy in Memphis and NCAA rules, concluding he did not violate them.
Though Hardaway was exonerated of any wrongdoing, Memphis University still faced penalties from the IARP; Memphis faced three years of probation, $5,000 fine, and 25 percent reduction of their men’s basketball budget as punishment for four Level II violations and five Level III infringements.
Hardaway was also suspended three games by the NCAA last season for recruiting violations and violating head-coaching responsibility rules in another investigation.
Senior Malcolm Dandridge sat out the final five games last season as his eligibility was investigated by his school.
Hardaway has amassed an overall winning percentage of.682, leading Memphis Tigers to two NCAA Tournament berths: Round 32 in 2022 and 64 this past 2023, as well as winning an NIT Championship (2021). Unfortunately, Memphis missed the tournament even with 22-10 record and winning 88% of games played last season!