Penny Hardaway will not be available for all games during the 2023 college basketball season.
The University of Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway will be suspended for the first three games of the 2023-24 season after the NCAA found that the program committed recruiting violations during the 2021-22 academic year. The violations included in-home visits with a prospect before the recruiting period began.
According to the NCAA, “Memphis men’s basketball coaches committed recruiting violations when they participated in two impermissible in-home recruiting visits with a prospect during his junior year of high school.”
The violation occurred during the 2021-22 academic year.
The University of Memphis Athletic Department released the following statement:
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.
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Hardaway claimed, “he should not be held responsible for the violations because he did not know NCAA rules prohibited in-person home visits and Memphis’ compliance office failed to appropriately train his newly promoted director of recruiting.”
No additional penalties for the program will be imposed other than the suspension for Hardaway.
In the midst of his suspension, he cannot attend his team’s games or have any contact or communication with players or coaches.
Before his coaching career, Hardaway was an NBA all-star who played alongside Shaq during their time in Orlando.
Hardaway is entering his sixth season as the head coach at his alma mater. The Tigers are coming off a 26-9 record and American Athletic Conference tournament title in 2023.
