NCAA puts Memphis on probation after softball players did coursework for men’s basketball player

The NCAA placed both the Memphis men’s basketball and softball programs on probation for two years after it said an academic counselor paid two softball players to do coursework for a men’s basketball player during the 2023-24 season.

The Memphis athletic department was also fined $30,000 and the NCAA took away 1 percent of the budget for both programs. The penalty, which was negotiated between Memphis and the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, stemmed from the softball players completing multiple assignments and providing answers to tests and quizzes for classes they had in common from Jan. 25 to Feb. 18, 2024. Memphis also had to vacate three men’s basketball wins during that period.

The NCAA did not name the athletes involved, but The Commercial Appeal reported the violations involved forward Malcolm Dandridge, who was held out for the final five games of the 2023-24 season. His final game for Memphis was Feb. 21, 2024.

Text records showed that former academic adviser Leslie Brooks paid the two softball players a combined $550 from her personal Apple Pay account for coursework, the NCAA said. The school fired Brooks on Feb. 23, 2024;  she received a 10-year show cause from the NCAA.

The school learned about Brooks’ arrangement with the players when a softball athletic trainer overheard several players discussing possible academic integrity issues regarding Brooks, the NCAA said. Later, a softball player reported the issues to both the trainer and head coach, who then reported the potential violations to the administration.

While Penny Hardaway was not named in this case — the NCAA said “no other student-athletes or staff were involved in the violations” — the Memphis program has repeatedly faced NCAA issues throughout his seven seasons as head coach. In 2022, the program was placed on probation for three years for its handling of James Wiseman’s eligibility during Hardaway’s first season in 2018-19. During the 2023-24 season, Hardaway was suspended for three games for two impermissible in-home visits with a recruit during his junior year of high school.

(Photo: Christine Tannous / The Commercial Appeal / USA Today Network)