Penny Hardaway will return as basketball coach next season memphisSources told ESPN.
After several meetings with the Memphis administration, Hardaway presented a plan for the next season, which will be his ninth at the school. According to sources, his return for 2026-27 will include changes to the coaching staff and the appointment of a general manager.
Hardaway expressed a desire to turn the program around after a 13–19 season, which included a late collapse where the Tigers lost seven consecutive games before winning the regular season finale. tulane.
Memphis lost to Tulane in the first round of the American Conference Tournament. It was the program’s first losing season since 1999–2000 under Johnny Jones, the year before John Calipari arrived at the school.
It was Hardaway’s first losing season in his eight years at Memphis, including a record of 175–87.
In those three appearances they have won an NCAA Tournament. Memphis earned a No. 5 seed at the NCAAs last year before falling to No. 12 Colorado State In the first round.
Hardaway’s future loomed as a worrisome decision for Memphis amid the slump this season, as Hardaway ranks highly among the school’s most famous graduates and is an icon in the city. They also reached the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four years.
Hardaway has two years remaining on his contract, which runs through April 2028. If he were to be released this year, his buyout would be around $6 million.
After the loss in the American Conference Tournament, Hardaway called it “a failed season”.
“It was definitely a failure,” Hardaway said. “You can’t classify this anywhere else, any other way. We didn’t do what we should have done. We failed.”
“But, again, you can come back from failure. There are a lot more teams that have gone through this than anybody else and I’m the head of that failure. Couldn’t really get guys to believe in the buy-in every single game. We worked hard, we put guys in position, and then guys have to go out there and take over from there because we can’t get on the court.”
