It’s become an all-too familiar sight in Old Rocky Top to see University of Tennessee Director of Athletics Dave Hart stroll up to the podium and announce a coaching change. Friday morning it was first-year men’s basketball coach Donnie Tyndall’s turn at the guillotine, getting summarily fired after the university learned that the NCAA would find Tyndall guilty of Level I and Level II violations in his previous position at Southern Miss. Two of Tyndall’s assistant coaches resigned early in the season because of the NCAA investigation.
“One of the things we have strived for is to get stability, and we had hoped when we hired Donnie that we would have that element in our men’s basketball program,” Hart said at his Friday press conference. “That is not how it has panned out as we stand here today. Having said that, this decision was the right decision for the University of Tennessee.”
Tennessee terminates contract of Tyndall pic.twitter.com/GgUrjrWgCk
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 27, 2015
While at Southern Miss Tyndall is being accused of helping players, specifically Matt Bingaya and Shadell Millinghaus, get impermissible financial aid. Compounding that, once he was hired by Tennessee Tyndall allegedly got back into his old Southern Miss e-mail account and deleted damaging messages pertaining to the possible violations. According to Tyndall’s termination letter, he will also be accused of failing to cooperate with the NCAA investigation. You can read the letter here.
Because of the impending violations, Tennessee will not have to buy out Tyndall’s contract and owe him no extra money as they boot him out of the building.
Statement from Tennessee chancellor Jimmy Cheek on the firing of Donnie Tyndall pic.twitter.com/P4Xcmegyjv
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) March 27, 2015
Tyndall’s firing, and the reasons for it, are a deathblow to a program that had managed to stay out of the basement even after getting a coach fired for NCAA violations just four years ago. That time it was Bruce Pearl, now at Auburn, who was punished for lying to NCAA investigators. That is apparently the least of which Tyndall has been accused. This also isn’t the first time the NCAA has nailed Tyndall, who was busted for violations at Moorehead State.
The Vols basketball program survived the loss of Pearl and Hart made a slam-dunk in hiring his replacement, Cuonzo Martin. But fan abuse and pining for Pearl had Martin heading to greener pastures at California after last season. Tyndall was supposed to save the day. Instead, he may have buried the program for years. And this time Hart bears a lot of the blame.
“There are a lot of coaches out there that have a transgression in their history somewhere that had an opportunity to do better,” Hart said. “And I was convinced at the time that Donnie had learned his lesson from Morehead State.”
But, apparently not. Under Tyndall the Vols finished 16-16, with huge wins over Arkansas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Tennessee skidded into the postseason, losing six of their last seven games. But there was a positive vibe in the program and some new recruits coming in to refresh the ranks. Hitting 20 or more wins in 2015-16 wasn’t out of the question, so much as expected. No one expects that now.
“I apologize to my players, assistant coaches, and the entire UT community that past occurrences led to today’s result,” Tyndall said in a statement. “I have truly loved my time at Tennessee.”
Donnie Tyndall's statement, from his lawyer. pic.twitter.com/Lxm21ftJtQ
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) March 27, 2015
Tyndall still hasn’t officially been punished by the NCAA, nor have they released their findings publicly. According to ESPN, Tyndall is at the very least looking at a full year suspension and possibly two.
Now, of course, Tennessee has to pick up the pieces yet again in one of its storied sports. All three of the major sports, football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball have all hired new head coaches over the last two seasons and now men’s basketball will have done it twice. Only Martin and legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt willingly stepped down, with Summitt retiring in 2012 after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. With that kind of turnover on his watch, it wouldn’t be wrong to expect Hart to have been more careful when considering Tyndall. It’s a mistake he says he won’t make again. In all, counting Tyndall, Hart will have been forced to replace six head coaches at the university since taking over as AD in 2011.
“That anger, that frustration, that disappointment that is being felt, believe me,” Hart said. “I feel those emotions very much so.”
You’d think he’d be used to it by now.
