Memphis has reached an agreement with NCAA enforcement staff on recruiting violations that occurred within the men's basketball program and the appropriate penalties for those violations. A Committee on Infractions panel has preliminarily approved the agreement. One individual in the case has contested the alleged violations, and his portion of the case will be considered by the Committee on Infractions during an infractions hearing before the release of the committee's full decision.
The agreed-upon violations involved in-home visits with a prospect before the appropriate recruiting period based on that prospect's year in high school.
The committee and Memphis will not discuss further details in the case at this time to protect the integrity of the ongoing process, as the committee's final decision — including potential violations and penalties for the remaining individual — is still pending.
By separating the case for the school from the case for the individual, the Division I Committee on Infractions publicly acknowledges the infractions case and permits the school to immediately begin serving its penalties while awaiting the committee's final decision. That decision also will include findings and penalties for the individual who has contested the violations.
This is the second case where the committee has used multiple resolution paths. In preliminarily approving the agreement, Gary Miller, Akron president and chief hearing officer for the panel, noted, "The panel appreciates the parties' efforts in working collaboratively to reach agreement on the violations and then impose meaningful penalties. This case is an example of efficient case processing that meets the mission of the NCAA's infractions program."
Some of the penalties — effective immediately — in this case include:
- One year of probation to run consecutively with the school's current probationary period from an Independent Accountability Resolution Process case.
- A $5,000 fine.
- A prohibition against all recruiting communications in men's basketball for two weeks during the 2022-23 academic year.
- A prohibition against off-campus recruiting activities by the head coach and an assistant coach for 15 days during the 2021-22 academic year (self-imposed).
- A reduction in the number of recruiting-person days in men's basketball by four during the 2021-22 academic year (self-imposed). The school will also reduce the number of recruiting-person days in men's basketball by four for the 2022-23 academic year.
- A reduction in official visits for men's basketball by two during the 2022-23 academic year.
In August, the Division I Board of Directors adopted new legislation intended to modernize and expedite the infractions process. Although the current infractions process permits negotiated resolution when not all parties participate, the new rules clarify when bifurcated cases are appropriate. The changes take effect Jan. 1.
