As the investigation into alleged violations involving Georgia basketball coach Jim Harrick continues, those conducting the probe might turn to a specific memo for possible answers.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Saturday that an Aug. 16, 2001 memo has Jim Harrick Jr. pointing the finger to associate athletics director Damon Evans in reference to who paid former Bulldog player Tony Cole's living expenses.

"Tony requested Dale Brown and his foundation to help assist in housing him while waiting acceptance to UGA," Harrick Jr. wrote in the memo obtained by the newspaper.

Brown denies this, while Cole also alleges that Harrick Jr. paid for the expenses. Harrick Jr. says it's Brown.

But if the NCAA finds that if either of the Harricks are responsible, it could find Georgia guilty of two violations: Paying a signee's living expenses before he enrolled, and lying about it.

"It's very, very simple," Brown told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. "The day (Cole) left to go to the University of Georgia, never did I help him or (UGA) with anything. After the day he went to Georgia, I had no involvement with Tony financially and very little personally."

The newspaper reported Friday that Georgia and NCAA investigators are apparently honing in and trying to pinpoint how much Harrick knew before his son, former Bulldogs assistant coach Jim Harrick Jr., wired $300 to former Georgia player Tony Cole.

On Monday, school president Michael Adams and athletics director Vince Dooley announced that the Bulldogs' season was over because two players committed academic fraud in a class taught by assistant coach Harrick Jr.

Dooley said the school has found no evidence that the elder Harrick was directly involved. Jim Harrick Jr. was fired last week, while his father was suspended with pay Monday, and sources told ESPN.com that Harrick expects to be fired. A dismissal would not occur until Georgia's investigation is complete.

And later Friday, Dooley gave some hope that Harrick will return as the school's basketball coach.

"We fully expect him to be our coach next year, we haven't found any credible evidence that would justify firing him right now," Dooley said on ESPN Radio's Gamenight on Friday. "But because he is in charge of our men's basketball program, we felt it was appropriate to suspend him based on the academic fraud and unethical conduct findings.

"I would like to think he would be our coach though next season, we have to wait and see."

But Adams provided more reasons for the investigation and for why the school withdrew the team from both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.

In a letter to his school's students published Friday in The Red and Black student newspaper, Adams wrote:

"... While the University's withdrawal from further (men's basketball) competition has been disappointing and frustrating, it is important that everyone understands the seriousness of the findings of our investigation so far. We have uncovered and reported instances of academic fraud. Academic fraud occurs when an athlete receives an academic benefit not available to other students. ...

"I regret that the decision to not play additional games has affected those eligible student-athletes and coaches, but, at the University of Georgia, academic integrity simply is more important." Georgia could save money if the elder Harrick is fired.

He has three years remaining on his contract, which pays $600,000 per year in base salary. But if there is proof Harrick knew about the alleged NCAA rules violations, which were first made by Cole in a ESPN story, he can be fired for "deliberate and serious failure to comply with an applicable rule or regulation of the NCAA, SEC or the University." If that is the case, the university would owe Harrick nothing.

Former basketball secretary Christine King accused Harrick of trying to change former Rams players' grades, providing them with improper benefits and academic assistance and other NCAA rules violations while he was coach at Rhode Island from 1997-99. King settled a $45,000 sexual harassment suit against the school.