Southern Miss has decided to self-impose a postseason ban for this season due to an NCAA investigation involving former head men's basketball coach Donnie Tyndall.
The administration told the coaches and players earlier on Tuesday and the players decided not to practice, sources told ESPN.com.
"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," Southern Mississippi athletic director Bill McGillis said in a statement.
The ban means Southern Miss will not play in the Conference USA tournament. A C-USA spokesperson said the league had changed its format to entering 12 of 14 teams in the postseason tournament. If Southern Miss were to finish 12th then the 13th team would be bumped up to replace the Eagles.
"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," McGillis said.
Tyndall met with the NCAA in November regarding potential rule violations related to improper financial aid to a pair of players -- Matt Bingaya and Shadell Millinghaus.
Tyndall, 44, left Southern Miss for Tennessee this past season and was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday night. He spent two seasons in Hattiesburg and led the program to a pair of NIT tournaments.
Tennessee plays at South Carolina on Tuesday night.
Doc Sadler replaced Tyndall and has a major rebuilding job on his hands. Southern Miss is 5-11 this season and 0-5 in C-USA play.
Two staff members who went with Tyndall from Southern Miss to Tennessee have resigned in recent months. Assistant coach Adam Howard left, citing personal reasons, while special assistant to the head coach R.J. Rush also resigned.
Tennessee said in a statement that it had no information to add.
"It's not appropriate for us to comment on decisions by other institutions, nor do we have any other updates to provide," the statement said.
Information from ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz was used in this report.