An NCAA infractions panel imposed a three-game suspension on Memphis coach Penny Hardaway for recruiting violations tied to two in-home visits with a prospect two years ago.
The panel issued its ruling, which follows a negotiated resolution in December that allowed the school to resolve the case and begin probation while one individual challenged the allegations. That turned out to be Hardaway, who was charged under the rules governing head-coach responsibility for conduct within their programs.
An assistant coach first visited the prospect in September 2021 at his home, followed by Hardaway roughly two weeks later. But NCAA rules prohibited in-home visits for juniors until April of that year, with those visits supposed to instead take place at the prospect’s current school.
Hardaway, a former Memphis and NBA star, had told the NCAA he was unaware of the rule.
“Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse,” the panel said. “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.”
In a statement, Memphis said school officials “strongly believe Coach Hardaway never intentionally committed a violation.”
“We will learn from this incident and be even more diligent in our education and monitoring,” the school said. “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.”