MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The NCAA has suspended Memphis Tiger’s head basketball coach Penny Hardaway for the first three games of the 2023-24 regular season for recruiting violations.
The NCAA said the Tiger men’s basketball coaches participated in two ‘impermissible in-home recruiting visits’ with a high school junior prospect.
The NCAA said an assistant coach traveled to the “highly rated” prospect’s home in another state to visit the junior and his family. They said two weeks later, Coach Hardaway did the same. NCAA rules require any in-person contact with recruits during the fall of their junior year be made at the players’ schools, not in homes.
“Because of his personal involvement in the violations and failure to monitor his staff, the men's basketball head coach also violated head coach responsibility rules,” said the NCAA.
Hardaway had told the NCAA he was unaware of the rule. He will now miss the first three games of the 2023-24 season that starts in November.
"Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse," the panel said in its decision. "The head coach's inattentiveness to compliance — particularly at a time when his program was under scrutiny related to a different infractions case — resulted in careless violations. Head coaches must remain diligent in monitoring their staff and promoting compliance at all times and cannot delegate those responsibilities to compliance staff members and administrators."
Don Jackson, an Alabama-based attorney who worked with Hardaway, called the ruling “flawed, yet predictable."
“This case was pursued for one reason (and one reason only): because of the Enforcement Staff's dissatisfaction with the outcome of the IRP decision of last fall,” Jackson said in a statement. “A decision will be made in the coming days on whether to appeal.”
The University of Memphis had been dealing with a separate NCAA probe from 2019 tied to the recruitment and short college stay of one-and-done center James Wiseman. That case ultimately led to the NCAA — through its newly formed Independent Accountability Resolution Process — punishing Memphis with three years of probation, a public reprimand and a fine but without a postseason ban.
Statement from Memphis Athletics
"As was announced by the NCAA in December, the University of Memphis reached an agreement with NCAA enforcement staff on institutional penalties relating to a violation that occurred in our men’s basketball program during the 2021-22 academic year. As was also indicated in December, one individual, now identified as Coach Hardaway, exercised his right to work directly with the NCAA on his portion of the case, which was finalized today. As we were navigating the IARP process at the time the violation was discovered, we felt it was in our best interest to work through the NCAA’s Negotiated Resolution process. We supported Coach Hardaway’s right to work directly with the NCAA on his portion of the case, and we strongly believe Coach Hardaway never intentionally committed a violation. The University of Memphis is committed to compliance. We will learn from this incident and be even more diligent in our education and monitoring. Now that the entirety of this case is finalized, we will move forward in support of Coach Hardaway and our men’s basketball program, as we do all our programs."
Hardaway was hired before the 2018-19 season and has led the Tigers to five consecutive 20-win seasons (110-52 overall), the 2021 NIT title, the 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament championship and two straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.