Southern Miss self-imposes postseason ban

Jan 21, 2015 - 12:49 AM Hattiesburg, MS (SportsNetwork.com) - Calling the penalty painful but necessary, Southern Mississippi said Tuesday it will keep its men's basketball team out of the postseason this year over an investigation into the program that is being conducted by the university and the NCAA.

The self-imposed postseason ban means the Golden Eagles will not be permitted to participate in the Conference USA championship or any other postseason tournament.

The Eagles are 5-11 this season and have lost their first five conference games.

The school said in November it was working with the NCAA to investigate issues surrounding to the program. Those issues, the school said Tuesday, are related to the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, when Donnie Tyndall was head coach.

According to ESPN.com, players refused to practice after athletic director Bill McGillis informed the team and its coaching staff of the ban Tuesday afternoon.

"I am saddened and extremely disappointed for the members of our men's basketball team, who will not be able to participate in the postseason this year, as well as for our new coaching staff and fans," McGillis said in a statement.

"This self-imposed penalty was a painful, but necessary, decision based on information gathered during the review process and available to the university at this time."

Tyndall coached the Golden Eagles for just two seasons, leading them to a pair of NIT appearances before leaving in April to replace Cuonzo Martin as head coach at Tennessee.

Southern Miss was 56-17 under Tyndall, winning a school-record 29 games and earning a share of the regular-season Conference USA championship last season.

He was the head coach at Morehead State from 2006-12 -- a stint that included a two-year probation handed down by the NCAA for recruiting violations related to booster activity. The program was also stripped one scholarship amid other penalties.

Tennessee said in November that it was aware of the review at Southern Miss and that no issues were raised when it was vetting Tyndall to be head coach.