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Hours after Penny Hardaway’s Memphis basketball program abruptly fired four coaches and staffers Wednesday, the university’s athletic department also acknowledged the existence of an anonymous letter that allegedly details multiple NCAA rules violations within the program.

Memphis has turned over the letter — which Sports Illustrated first reported — to the NCAA, according to an athletic department spokesperson.

It is unknown whether the letter is connected with Wednesday’s staff shakeup, which came barely two months before the Tigers’ season opener.

Memphis did not reveal the contents of the letter. The NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The alleged violations mentioned in the letter include Hardaway’s personal involvement in the recruitment of two players: one who ultimately attended Memphis and another who did not, according to multiple outlets that obtained copies of the letter. Those instances allegedly occurred in 2020 and 2022, per the reports. The letter also mentions academic violations during the 2023-24 academic year, the reports said.

As for Memphis’ surprise coaching firings, Hardaway noted in a statement released earlier Wednesday that “the timing was not ideal” to split with the four coaches — assistant coach Rick Stansbury, adviser to the head coach Faragi Phillips, director of player development Jamie Rosser and recruiting coordinator Demetrius Dyson — but that he was doing so in the best interest of the team.

“I made the difficult decision to go in a new direction with our staff,” Hardaway continued in his statement. “I want to give this team the best opportunity to reach our goals of winning the American Conference and advancing in the NCAA Tournament. With the season rapidly approaching, we are going to move quickly to complete the staff.”

The timing and scope of the firings, so close to Memphis’ opener, are peculiar enough, but especially so compared with the program’s broader turnover this offseason.

Over the summer, five other staff members — assistant coach Andy Borman, strength coach Darby Rich, director of basketball ops Garrett Kelly, director of recruiting Jeremy Kipness and director of analytics Andy Pennington — previously departed the program. In Hardaway’s six seasons leading his alma mater, personnel changes have been a recurring theme. And as for the roster, the Tigers only return one scholarship player from last season, after seven players transferred out of the program. Hardaway has since added 10 new scholarship players.

Also of note, as it relates to the timing of Wednesday’s announcement, is the fact that it comes less than six weeks after Ed Scott took over as Memphis’ new athletic director — replacing Laird Veatch, who took the same position at Missouri in May — and less than two weeks after Scott hired former Tiger Tim Duncan as senior deputy AD and the sport administrator for men’s basketball.

Violations such as those reportedly alleged in the letter Memphis submitted to the NCAA would be the latest in a line of missteps for Hardaway, who has been mired with off-court issues since being hired in 2018. The recruitment of former top prospect James Wiseman led to an 18-month NCAA investigation, although the organization’s independent accountability resolutions process (IARP) ultimately ruled that Hardaway’s overall philanthropy in Memphis meant he couldn’t have violated NCAA rules. In a separate investigation from last year, Hardaway was suspended three games by the NCAA for other recruiting violations and violating a head coach’s responsibility. Late last season, senior Malcolm Dandrige also missed Memphis’ final five games while the school investigated his eligibility.

While a potential investigation into the letter’s allegations may linger into this season — and likely even beyond that — Memphis’ first priority has to be filling out the rest of Hardaway’s staff. Not only is the team’s season-opener against Missouri only two months away, on Nov. 4, but the Tigers open practice later this month. One name to watch: former Duke and Louisville assistant coach Nolan Smith, who has generated some chatter as a potential new hire.

Hardaway needs to nail these hires, though, especially entering a pivotal seventh season as head coach. The Tigers started last season 15-2 and were ranked in the top-10, but fell apart as the season progressed, losing eight of their last 15 games to miss the NCAA Tournament altogether. In six seasons, Hardaway has only led Memphis to the Big Dance twice, with just one win in those two combined appearances. (Hardaway’s Tigers won the 2021 NIT, too.)

The 53-year-old’s contract, which was extended before the 2022 season, runs through the 2027-28 season.

The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode contributed to this report.

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