Amid personnel turmoil in the men’s basketball program, a representative from the University of Memphis confirmed the existence of an anonymous letter accusing the program of widespread possible rules violations and said the letter had been forwarded to the NCAA.

“The University of Memphis is aware of the anonymous letter and has submitted it to the NCAA,” university spokeswoman Michele Ehrhart said in an email to Sports illustrated on Wednesday. “That is all we can say on this matter.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway announced the firing of four members of his staff: assistants Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser, as well as special adviser Demetrius Dyson. The school did not give any reasons for their firings. It is unclear whether the firings are related to the letter sent by Sports illustrated.

The letter alleges Hardaway’s personal involvement in potentially serious violations in the recruitment of one player who came to Memphis and a second prospective player who did not enroll at the school. The letter alleges those violations occurred in 2020 and 2022. It also alleges academic violations occurred during the 2023-24 school year. The allegations in the letter have not been independently substantiated.

Hardaway’s program was previously under investigation for allegedly improperly recruiting James Wiseman and other junior players in 2019. Wiseman played just three games in a Memphis uniform. He was suspended for 12 games for accepting improper benefits, but left the school before the suspension expired and turned pro. A hearing panel of the NCAA’s now-defunct Independent Accountability Resolution Process concluded that Hardaway did not violate NCAA rules because of his long-standing philanthropy at Memphis, but the school was fined and placed on three years’ probation that ends in September 2025.

Hardaway was suspended for the first three games of last season due to recruiting code violations related to two home visits in 2021 involving a recruit from the 1923 graduating class.

A player on Memphis’ team last season, senior Malcolm Dandridge, missed the final five games of the season while the school investigated his eligibility.

There was a lot more turnover in Memphis during the offseason, in addition to what was announced Wednesday. Commercial appeal reported that since the end of the 2023–24 season, five more staff members have left the team and only one scholarship player has returned.

Memphis’ athletic director, Ed Scott, is also new and only officially took office on July 22nd.

Writer Kevin Sweeney contributed to this report.