Donnie Tyndall Allegations Another Black-Eye for Coaching Profession

Donnie Tyndall won 56 games in two years at Southern Mississippi and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT both seasons. Then, in the blink of an eye, Tyndall bolted for the apparently greener pastures of SEC hoops with Tennessee.

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Now, after receiving the dreaded boot in Knoxville following reports of an NCAA inquiry at Southern Mississippi, Tyndall will be lucky if his career doesn’t develop into a barren desert.

As was first reported by CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson, the NCAA sent notice to Southern Mississippi on Friday afternoon of specific allegations stemming from Tyndall’s tenure with the Golden Eagles.

In the 43-page document, the NCAA alleges Tyndall and his coaching staff committed seven Level One transgressions (the most serious level of violations per NCAA rules), including academic fraud and hampering the NCAA’s subsequent investigation.

The only bullet dodged by Southern Mississippi was not receiving the always nasty charge of lack of institutional control.

Nevertheless, the Golden Eagles’ program figures to be hit with sanctions for the actions of a coach once hailed as a promising up-and-comer within the industry.

Predictably, Southern Mississippi both acknowledged and downplayed the damage, noting the problems were isolated to men’s hoops and individuals no longer associated with the school.

Jan 27, 2015; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Donnie Tyndall reacts to a play during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas defeated Tennessee 69-64. Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports

How much the NCAA factors those sentiments into potential punishments remains to be seen. After all, the NCAA doesn’t have a reputation of going easy on non-big boy schools.

As for Tyndall himself, the denials have already started. In following the script of coaches both before and after, he stated his innocence while trotting out PR buzzwords such as “saddened” and “disappointed” in a responding statement.

It’s become a running gimmick within the coaching industry to deny all while professing a combination of innocence and naivety when it comes to violations. Most recently, it was a strategy practiced by Roy Williams at North Carolina. Now, Tyndall will try his hand with the same approach.

Like always, some will buy his story while others won’t. Whatever ultimately happens with Southern Mississippi, the problem of slippery coaching activities figures to continue into the future. It’s a culture the NCAA has allowed to fester, despite the association’s continued assurances of cracking down on wrongdoers.

The NCAA took a slight step forward earlier in the year when they smacked Syracuse for violations under Jim Boeheim. More recently, the NCAA sent notice of allegations to North Carolina and now Southern Mississippi.

In the Golden Eagles’ case, the NCAA may have enough to grant leniency, especially since Tyndall is no longer employed at the school.

But if there is one thing the NCAA has proven over the years, it’s that their method of doling out punishments is haphazard at best, leading to an increasingly brazen group of cheaters.

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Whatever the final result, don’t expect Tyndall to get many more big-time coaching offers, at least for now. The 45-year-old currently has enough skeletons in his closet for most high-level AD’s to painfully wince when reviewing his resume.

Will another school take a chance on him further down the road? The unfortunate, but likely answer, is yes. When the dust settles, Tyndall still has that nice record of 216-122 during a coaching career that has led two teams to the NCAA Tournament. And in college hoops, it’s all about winning. That’s the ugly truth of college basketball, and for all his apparent faults, Tyndall has won plenty of games.

Just don’t ask the folks at Southern Mississippi about such a mindset at the moment; they probably aren’t feeling so great about it all.

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