What would Penny Hardaway's buyout be? Memphis basketball contract details
· Yahoo Sports
Penny Hardaway's future as Memphis basketball coach has been the focus of intense scrutiny by fans and media alike for weeks.
The Tigers (12-17, 7-9 American Conference) are languishing through the worst season the program has seen in more than a quarter-century — and it's not getting any better. They lost their sixth straight game March 1, an 84-68 defeat at East Carolina. It's the first six-game losing streak since the 1998-99 season, and it's the most losses for the program since 1969-70.
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There's still no guarantee the Tigers will reach the American Conference tournament, which begins March 11 in Birmingham, Alabama. Only the top 10 teams in the standings advance, and Memphis is currently in 10th place — only one game ahead of ECU, which now owns the tiebreaker.
"Man, we can’t look like this no more for the rest of the year," Hardaway said after the loss at ECU. "C’mon man, this is embarrassing."
As the Tigers' plunge extends toward depths they haven't hit in more than three decades, Hardaway has found himself on almost every recent coaching hot seat list. As difficult as it may be to envision Memphis firing Hardaway (a native Memphian and perhaps the school's most high-profile alumnus), it has become an impossible-to-ignore prospect.
While Hardaway has enjoyed success in his eight-season tenure (three NCAA Tournament appearances, two American Conference tournament championships, a regular-season conference title, an NIT championship and a career record of 167-85), he also is just 1-3 in March Madness games as a coach and his program has been involved in three major NCAA investigations.
If Memphis athletic director Ed Scott decided to fire Hardaway, how much money would it take to get it done? With two years remaining on his current contract, Hardaway's buyout amount is at least $5.9 million, according to the terms of the deal. A copy of the contract was obtained by The Commercial Appeal through an open records request.
If Memphis fired Hardaway as soon as the season ends, prorated figures would bump his buyout to approximately $6.15 million.
Hardaway signed his current deal in October 2022, shortly before one of his most successful seasons as coach, a 26-9 campaign that ended with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to FAU in Columbus, Ohio.
"I mean, most schools aren’t going to give a guy six years to get it right," Hardaway said at the time. "(But) I think it’s just the respect from the school to me for taking on a job at the time that I took it on and (for) still being here."
Memphis has two games left in the regular season — against South Florida on March 5 (8 p.m. CT, ESPN2) at FedExForum, and at Tulane on March 8 (1 p.m. CT).
The American Conference tournament begins March 11 in Birmingham, Alabama. The Tigers will have to win that in order to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at [email protected], follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Penny Hardaway contract, buyout for Memphis basketball coach