Tennessee head coach Donnie Tyndall calls a play against Arkansas during their game in the quarterfinal round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday, March 13, 2015, in Nashville.KNOXVILLE -- The Donnie Tyndall era at Tennessee is over.
The Times Free Press can confirm a Friday morning CBS Sports report that the Volunteers will fire the basketball coach, after hiring him less than a year ago, amid an NCAA investigation into his former program at Southern Mississippi.
The Volunteers made the termination of Tyndall's contract official shortly before 9 a.m. on Friday morning.
According to the university's release, Tennessee made the decision "based on information the university received during the NCAA's investigation of another institution."
Tyndall was "highly likely to be found responsible for serious" NCAA rules violations at another program, according to the release.
"It is disappointing that we have to take this action," Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said in the university's release. "It is highly likely that Coach Tyndall will face significant penalties at the conclusion of the NCAA's infractions process. We believe that this decision is in the best interests of the University of Tennessee."
Tennessee announced it will hold a news conference at 11 a.m.
The termination agreement between Tennessee and Tyndall, obtained Friday morning by the Times Free Press, mentions the "academic misconduct and impermissible financial aid" stemming from the Southern Miss investigation as reasons the university was terminating Tyndall's contract with cause.
Based on his contract, if Tyndall is found to have committed a major infraction, either at Tennessee or another program, the Vols can fire him with cause and avoid paying him the $3 million buyout he's owed if fired before March 15, 2017. His initial deal was for six years through the 2019-20 season and worth $1.6 million.
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The agreement also cites the coach's control bylaw, which holds head coaches responsible for the actions of all assistant coaches, graduate assistants and other staffers in the program.
According to the agreement, Tyndall told NCAA investigators when he met with them a second time on March 16 that he deleted e-mails from a Southern Miss account, to which he still had access, in November, on the same day he first met with the NCAA.
"You knew that e-mails sent to and from that e-mail account were the subject of questioning by the NCAA enforcement staff on November 18, 2014," the agreement stated, "and that the NCAA would be requesting you and/or the prior institution to provide copies of e-mails from that e-mail account.
The deletion of e-mails that "could have been relevant" to the NCAA investigation "created an appearance of significant impropriety," according to the agreement.
Tennessee believed, according to the agreement, that Tyndall deleting the e-mails would bring a failure to cooperate charge from the NCAA, which is another major violation.
The Vols were 16-16 this season under Tyndall and finished 10th in the SEC.
Tyndall met with the NCAA a second time on March 16, three days after Tennessee's season ended in the SEC tournament. After Tennessee officials spoke to the NCAA on Thursday about the potential allegations against the coach, Tyndall met with Tennessee brass, including athletic director Dave Hart.
The Vols played in the Sweet 16 some 364 days ago, and now they're looking for their third hoops coach in as many years after Cuonzo Martin left Tennessee for California after three seasons as coach.
Tyndall's previous run-in with the NCAA, which stemmed from illegal activity involving a booster, was well-documented, and Hart has defended the vetting process of his hire when he made it last April. He's reiterated there were no signs of further NCAA trouble during Tyndall's time at Southern Miss.
The Golden Eagles, though, announced the NCAA was investigating its program in November. The investigation reportedly involves financial aid and academic records of players who were not yet eligible for scholarships. Southern Miss self-imposed a postseason ban in January.
The Vols signed two 2015 players, wing Shembari Phillips and forward Admiral Schofield, in the fall and held a commitment from 2016 forward Romello White.
More to come as this story develops.
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