HARDAWAY SAYS HE GAVE $2.6M TO MEMPHIS REVENUE SHARING

Penny Hardaway has said he contributed $2.6 million of his own money towards Memphis's $9 million revenue-sharing pool for the men's basketball programme. Hardaway is entering his ninth season as Memphis head coach. According to CBS Sports, he is the latest college basketball coach to put personal funds back into his team's revenue sharing. The disclosure relates to how Memphis funds payments to its roster under revenue-sharing arrangements now used across US college sports.

Revenue sharing allows universities to pay student athletes directly, a departure from the previous model in which schools could not compensate players beyond scholarships and other benefits. Programmes across college basketball have varied in how they raise and distribute the funds allocated to their rosters, with some coaches, including Hardaway, choosing to supplement their budgets personally. Memphis's $9 million figure represents the total revenue-sharing spend cited for the programme, with Hardaway's reported $2.6 million contribution forming part of that total. No further breakdown of how the remaining funds were raised was given in the report.

CBS Sports did not report any additional comment from Memphis's athletics department on the arrangement, nor any confirmation of future contributions from Hardaway. The disclosure comes as Hardaway begins his ninth season in charge of the programme. No details were given on whether other coaches at Memphis or rival programmes face similar expectations to contribute personal funds. CBS Sports presented the figures as reported by Hardaway himself.