The NCAA is calling Tennessee today to discuss the findings of its investigation into Coach Donnie Tyndall’s tenure at Southern Miss, a source close to the investigation told GoVols247.

Former Tennessee basketball coach Donnie Tyndall

According to the source, the NCAA’s call essentially will be an informal presentation of the findings that will be in its formal Notice of Allegations in a few weeks.

Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart and Tyndall plan to meet soon after Hart and UT’s lawyers speak with the NCAA, and a decision on Tyndall’s future likely would be made at or shortly after that meeting.

Multiple sources in and around the Tennessee athletic department have insisted to GoVols247 as recently as Thursday afternoon that, as of now, UT’s administration and high-level boosters like Tyndall and don’t want him fired. The question, though, is just how bad Tyndall’s punishment from the NCAA could be, and whether it will too much for Tennessee to stomach.

A source close to the investigation told GoVols247 on Thursday that, barring any new charges brought forth from the NCAA —Â and the source wasn’t aware of any new developments — there was no historical precedent for any coach getting a show-cause penalty in a case similar to Tyndall’s. The much more likely penalty would seem to be a combination of a multi-game suspension and some temporary recruiting restrictions, or perhaps even a temporary reduction in scholarship numbers. If that were the case, Hart and his advisors would have a simple decision to make on whether Tennessee would be better off keeping Tyndall and accepting the penalties or going in a new direction.

Firing Tyndall would give Tennessee a third coach in three seasons, and some of the department’s administrators and high-level boosters are understandably reluctant about going through that process in basketball after going through the same issue with the school’s football program in recent years.

GoVols247 will continue to monitor this developing situation.

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