NASHVILLE - Tennessee officials had a preliminary conversation with Butler coach Chris Holtmann on Friday regarding its vacant head coaching position, sources familiar with the discussions said.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, said representatives for Tennessee and Holtmann had contact in the hours since Tennessee officially fired Donnie Tyndall.
Although the discussion was preliminary, there is mutual interest between Tennessee and Holtmann, the sources said. Holtmann is believed to be one of several, or perhaps many, candidates for the vacancy.
Holtmann just completed his first season at Butler, going 23-11 and losing to Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32. He served as interim coach until January, when he agreed to terms with Butler to replace Brandon Miller, who had been on medical leave.
Before becoming the head coach, the 43-year-old Holtmann spent one season as a Butler assistant and, before that, three years as coach of Gardner-Webb. He also has worked as an assistant at Ohio University.
Tyndall was fired Friday amid an escalating NCAA investigation that, according to his termination letter, revolved around impermissible financial aid and academic misconduct while he served as head coach at Southern Miss.
Tennessee has had three basketball coaches since 2011 and now seeks a fourth. It fired Bruce Pearl, also for NCAA violations, in March 2011. Tyndall was hired to replace Cuonzo Martin on April 22, 2014. Martin, who succeeded Pearl, resigned at UT in order to take the California job.
