Memphis Softball Penalized After NCAA Uncovers Academic Scandal
The NCAA placed Memphis softball on probation for two years after an investigation discovered two student-athletes committed academic integrity violations.
Ally Callahan and Aaliyah Dixon were reportedly paid by former academic advisor Leslie Brooks to do coursework for men's basketball player Malcolm Dandridge, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
The NCAA found that Brooks paid the softball players $150 for an assignment for Dandridge’s Intro to Theatre course. It also found that the former advisor paid them $400 to take three tests for Dandridge as part of a Health/Sport Terminology course.
Brooks was fired on Feb. 23, 2024, and has received a 10-year show-cause penalty.
News from the NCAA: Memphis penalized for academic fraud involving men's basketball and softball athletes. An academic adviser gets a 10-year show cause penalty, plus school financial sanctions and vacation of records. https://t.co/qUcUkfvIgU
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) July 16, 2025
"I would like to thank our staff who worked swiftly and collaboratively with the NCAA to take appropriate action and implement corrective measures," Memphis president Bill Hardgrave said in a prepared statement. "The University of Memphis is committed to a culture of compliance with all NCAA rules and will move our program forward accordingly."
The school's athletic department was also fined $30,000, and the NCAA took away 1 percent of the budget for both programs.
As a result of the major infraction, the softball program has to vacate records for all contests in which the two players played during the 2024 season while ineligible. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the Tigers didn't win any games during that span.
The NCAA hits former Memphis academic advisor with a 10-year show cause for academic integrity violations.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) July 16, 2025
No penalty for coach Penny Hardaway.
Leslie Brooks paid two softball student-athletes to complete coursework for and provide test or quiz answers to a men’s basketball…
Callahan appeared in four games before the athletic department began investigating. She had two seasons eligibility remaining and didn't appear in another game for the Tigers.
The catcher from Hernando, Miss,, was in the middle of her first season with the Tigers are transferring from Central Arkansas. She hit .250 for Memphis with one hit in four at-bats.
However, Dixon appeared in nine of the Tigers’ first 10 games. The day after Brooks was fired, she missed 29 games and returned to the lineup on April 19, appearing in the team's last 11 games of the season.
Dixon finished the year batting .265 across 19 games. She recorded 13 hits with two doubles, a triple and a run batted in,
The infractions occurred during the final season of Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro tenure at the helm of the Tigers program. Prothro resigned on June 17, 2024, after two underwhelming seasons in Memphis.
The Tigers went 8-43 in 2023, then followed that up with a 6-44 mark in 2024. Before Memphis, Prothro spent 12 seasons at Alabama, where she led the Crimson Tide to the national championship in 2012.
Prothro is currently the pitching coach at Florida.
-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.