Tennessee fires Donnie Tyndall amid NCAA investigation

Donnie Tyndall’s alleged transgressions at Southern Mississippi have cost him his job at Tennessee after just one season.

Tennessee Athletic Director Dave Hart said Friday in a release announcing Tyndall’s termination that the NCAA was likely to find the coach’s program at Southern Mississippi had committed “Level I and/or Level II violations relating to academic fraud and impermissible financial aid.”

“It is disappointing that we have to take this action,” Hart said. “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.”

Southern Mississippi announced in January that it was self-imposing a postseason ban related to an investigation into the men’s basketball team during the 2012-13 and 2013-14.

“In the past months, I learned that violations of NCAA rules occurred in the Southern Miss men’s basketball program when I was that program’s head coach. That surprised and disappointed me,” Tyndall said in a statement according to the Associated Press. “During my time at Southern Miss, I believed that our program followed NCAA rules and worked well with the university’s administration to maintain an atmosphere of rules compliance.”

But this isn’t the first program under Tyndall to face sanctions.

In 2010, Tyndall’s program at Moorehead State, where he coached from 2006-12 was put on probation for two years and lost scholarships and recruiting restrictions because of booster violations.

Tennessee finished the 2014-15 season with a record of 16-16.

Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme