Tennessee football program has been found responsible for over 200 individual violations, including 18 Level I infractions, and has been fined $8 million by the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Former coach Jeremy Pruitt has been issued a six-year show cause order, while the university will face probation, vacated wins, and scholarship reductions. The program will be on probation for five years and will have to undergo an independent compliance review each year. In addition to the fine, there will be a $5,000 legislated fine, a 3% deduction from the football budget, and an additional fine to recoup money earned during the 2020 Gator Bowl while the program was ineligible.
The NCAA stated that the fines were set higher than usual to avoid imposing bowl bans that would affect players and staff who had no involvement in the violations. The NCAA panel hopes that this case will prompt a reevaluation of the penalties philosophy.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel expressed relief that the program avoided a bowl ban, stating the importance of protecting the current and future players. Two players who enrolled at Tennessee received direct payments from Jeremy Pruitt or his wife. One player’s family received money for a car down payment, rental property, and monthly car payments, while another player’s mother was given money for medical bills and gas expenses. These players participated in games while being ineligible, and all the games during that period will be vacated.
Tennessee also violated visitation rules during the recruitment of 29 players. The program provided cash for hotel rooms and meals and arranged unofficial visits during the COVID-19 dead period.
Other penalties include a loss of 28 scholarships over five years, show cause orders for the director of recruiting and the assistant director of recruiting, suspension for Jeremy Pruitt if hired within the show cause period, limits on official and unofficial visits, and a reduction in recruiting communication and evaluation.
The NCAA recognized Tennessee’s cooperation and self-imposed penalties in its decision.
Jeremy Pruitt was fired as Tennessee coach in January 2021 after three underwhelming seasons with the program. The university fired him for cause and refused to pay his $13 million buyout. His assistants Shelton Felton and Brian Niedermeyer, along with support staffers Drew Hughes and Michael Magness, were also terminated. Pruitt, Felton, and Niedermeyer have found coaching positions elsewhere, while Hughes and Magness have left college athletics.
