According to a news release, the University of Memphis announced on Monday that Penny Hardaway, the head basketball coach of the Memphis Tigers, will be back for a ninth season.
“Penny is deeply committed to this program and to the University of Memphis,” said University of Memphis Senior Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ed Scott. “We have had productive conversations about the future of Memphis Basketball and the steps necessary to position our program to compete at a high level. I appreciate Penny’s willingness to evaluate every aspect of the program and make the adjustments needed to achieve our ultimate goal of postseason success.”
This comes after an eighth Penny season where the team finished 13-19 overall, 8-10 in the American Athletic Conference, and losing in the first round to Tulane in round 1 of the conference tournament.
Memphis also experienced a 7 game losing streak that started on February 12.
“It was a failure for sure. I mean, you can’t count or categorize it any other way. I mean, we didn’t do what we needed to do. We failed. But again, you can come back from failure. There’s been a lot of teams that have gone through this year, more than any,” Hardaway explained. “And, I’m the head of that of that failure. Couldn’t get the guys to really believe in and buy into every single game. We worked hard. We put guys in position, and then the guys have to go out there and take over from there, because we can’t go on the court. But it was a full season.”
Sources: Penny Hardaway will return next season as the Memphis head coach. After multiple meetings with Memphis administration, Hardaway presented a plan for next season that includes changes on the coaching staff and hiring a General Manager. pic.twitter.com/tgEndqJS9y
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 16, 2026
