Former Southern Mississippi head coach Donnie Tyndall crushed by NCAA Infractions Committee

Former Southern Mississippi coach Donnie Tyndall has been slapped with a 10-year show cause penalty by the NCAA for violations that he directed. The period of the penalty runs until April, 2026.

According to the statement released by the NCAA, Tyndall knowingly participated in directing improper benefits to student athletes beginning almost immediately after he was hired by the Golden Eagles. The benefits included completion of fake coursework to gain eligibility for recruits, and payments to players directed through Tyndall.

The NCAA reports claims that the activities by Tyndall and his staff impacted nearly half of the prospects recruited by Southern Miss during a two-year period.

The NCAA also states that Tyndall knowingly engaged in a cover-up during the investigation, which as in other cases with the NCAA, is often treated more harshly than the original infractions themselves.

If an NCAA school hires Tyndall during the period of his penalty, he will need to be suspended immediately by the school. The punishment continues to extend beyond April, 2026, as any school hiring him at that point will need to suspend Tyndall for 50 percent of the first season.

The ban effectively ends Tyndall's coaching career in the NCAA.

Additional penalties were handed out to his staff at the time, and to one of the prep coaches who participated in the payments to the recruits as he was employed by an NCAA school at the time of the infraction.

Southern Mississippi will have three years added to its probation period, now running through Jan., 2020, and will vacate wins from the period during which ineligible players participated in games. The school will also need to reduce its scholarships by a total of four over the next three seasons, pay fines, and continue with its self-imposed recruiting sanctions.

The two-year postseason ban also given to the Golden Eagles was served during the last two seasons.