*UPDATED at 2:45 p.m.*
KNOXVILLE -- Officials from the NCAA and Tennessee plan to speak Thursday afternoon regarding the allegations against Volunteers basketball coach Donnie Tyndall stemming from the NCAA investigation into violations that may have occurred under his watch Southern Mississippi, according to a CBS Sports report.
Tyndall and Tennessee administrators, including athletic director Dave Hart, then will meet to discuss the situation, according to the report.
The conversation between the NCAA and Tennessee likely is an informal preview of what would be in the official letter of allegations. The date of its arrival isn't known.
Per the usual protocol during ongoing NCAA investigations, Tennessee officials declined to comment.
Rumors and speculation picked up on Thursday afternoon that Tyndall's firing was imminent, but the belief, based on multiple conversations the Times Free Press had with those in and around Tennessee's basketball program throughout the season, is the Vols will stand by Tyndall if his NCAA punishment allows for it.
A coaching change would mean Tennessee would have a third different coach in as many seasons, and it's reasonable to think Hart would want to stand behind the coach he hired.
The CBS Sports report suggested Tyndall has plenty of support due to his relationships with Hart, who's been supportive of Tyndall publicly throughout his first season, along with other Tennessee administrators and influential boosters.
"Everybody is 100 percent behind him," a source told CBS Sports.
If Tyndall's NCAA punishment consists of some combination of a multi-game suspension or recruiting restrictions, it's likely Tennessee would keep him.
Should the NCAA slap a show-cause penalty on Tyndall, who may face a charge such as failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance or failure to monitor even if he's not directly linked to any infractions at Southern Miss thanks to the NCAA's coach's control bylaw, it may be tough for the Vols to keep him.
Tyndall's contract with Tennessee allows the university to fire him without having to pay the $3 million buyout he's owed if fired before March 15, 2017, if he's found to have committed major (Level I or Level II) NCAA infractions at Tennessee or another program.
The six-year deal, which runs through the 2019-20 season, pays Tyndall $1.6 million annually.
Late Wednesday night, Yahoo! Sports reported Tyndall and NCAA investigators for a second time last week.
The NCAA is investigating potential violations that may have occurred under Tyndall's watch at Southern Miss, where he coached the two seasons before the Vols tabbed him last April to replace Cuonzo Martin, who left Tennessee for California.
The investigation reportedly stems from potential infractions regarding improper financial aid for tuition and living expenses and academic records for non-scholarship players.
According to the Yahoo! report, which cites anonymous sources, Tyndall met with the NCAA on March 16, three days after Tennessee's season ended with a loss to Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals.
In Tyndall's first season, the Vols went 16-16 and finished 10th in the SEC, three spots higher than their preseason predicted finish.
Southern Miss confirmed the NCAA's investigation in November and in its aftermath, two Tennessee assistant coaches, Adam Howard R.J. Rush, resigned in November.
In January, the Golden Eagles self-imposed a postseason ban for this season, and guard Rasham Suarez and forward Jeremiah Eason, two players Tyndall recruited to Southern Miss, were ruled ineligible.
This is Tyndall's second run-in with the NCAA. While he coached at Morehead State, the NCAA investigated the impermissible activity of a booster before slapping Tyndall with failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance and failure to monitor his staff's activity and levying other penalties on the program.
Tyndall has remained mostly mum, only saying he has and would cooperate 100 percent with the investigation.
"Donnie not only has done a good job here as the basketball coach, he's proved to be a good fit," Hart told the Associated Press earlier this week. "He's connected with our community. He and his wife do a good job with the community, do that willingly and enthusiastically.
"From those two perspectives, I think he's been very, very good."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.