Donnie Tyndall Penalized by NCAA: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Former Southern Mississippi basketball coach Donnie Tyndall received a 10-year show-cause penalty after failing "to promote an atmosphere for compliance" during his time with the Golden Eagles.

The NCAA announced the punishment Friday after completing an investigation and stated Tyndall took actions that were meant to thwart the probe. The program had a self-imposed two-year postseason ban accepted and will be on probation for three years. 

The NCAA stated its investigation found Tyndall instructed members of his staff to complete coursework for seven prospects to make them eligible. It also discovered "cash and prepaid credit card payments" facilitated to two prospects, which the former coach said was discussed with a compliance director.

Tyndall, who spent two seasons with the Golden Eagles starting in 2012, then requested a staff member fabricate a document approving the payments to prospects, according to the NCAA's findings.

It's also noted in the report that the former coach deleted relevant emails, provided "false or misleading information" when asked about the case and made contact with others involved in the investigation.

The 45-year-old coach, who spent more than two decades coaching in the college ranks, left for Tennessee in 2014. He was fired by the university less than a year later after the school was made aware of the possible violations during his time at Southern Miss.

Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said at the time he would have never hired Tyndall if he had known about the alleged Southern Miss infractions beforehand. In 2010, Morehead State's program was placed on probation for two years while under Tyndall's guidance due to violations for booster activity.

Last June, Tyndall told Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com that he had no plans to stop pursuing opportunities despite the investigation:

"

I was the youngest head coach in the SEC last season. So I'm not giving up on my hopes and dreams. My dream has always been to play on a Monday night and win a national title, and that's still my dream. So people may say I'm delusional. But my dream is still to get back into coaching and coach on that Monday night.

"

Looking ahead, the 10-year show-cause order through April 2026 makes that far less likely. If he's hired by an NCAA school during that time, he must be suspended from all coaching duties. If he's hired after that period ends, he'll be suspended for 50 percent of his first season with the program, per the NCAA.

Southern Miss will remain under probation through Jan. 29, 2020, and the NCAA also noted it accepted self-imposed recruiting restrictions for next season, including a loss of four scholarships over the next three years and a reduction of official recruiting visits by three.