The University of Tennessee’s athletic department was fined over $8 million by the NCAA on Friday for more than 200 infractions allegedly committed by the football program.
The infractions allegedly occurred when Jeremy Pruitt was head coach of the SEC team from 2018 to 2020. It is one of the biggest fines ever imposed by the NCAA.
“The panel encountered a challenging set of circumstances related to prescribing penalties in this case,” the infractions committee said in its decision. “The panel urges the Infractions Process Committee and the membership to clearly define its philosophy regarding penalties — which extends beyond postseason bans — and memorialize that philosophy in an updated set of penalty guidelines.”
The Volunteers were not banned from appearing in a bowl game this season, but Tennessee was placed on five years of probation and will lose 28 scholarships during that time.
“Our athletics department, including our football program, is fiercely competitive and committed to winning the right way,” the Tennessee athletic department said in a statement. “We have navigated this case during a significant change at the NCAA, and we are pleased with how it was ultimately resolved. We always wanted to be accountable but were unwilling to sacrifice our innocent student-athletes’ ability to play in the postseason.”
The NCAA allegedly discovered that Pruitt and his wife made impermissible $60,000 in cash payments to players and their families. Pruitt received a six-year show-cause order and will be suspended for a full season if another NCAA school hires him.
Pruitt was 16-19 in three seasons at Tennessee and was fired with cause, with Tennessee refusing to pay any of his $12.6 million buyout.
“This panel found itself in a very difficult position as it was charged with applying existing penalties while also respecting the guidance from NCAA member schools,” said Kay Norton, the chief hearing officer for the panel. “Today’s decision preserves opportunities for current students who were not involved in wrongdoing to compete at the highest level and during the postseason.”
The Knoxville News Sentinel obtained emails written by former athletic director and football coach Philip Fulmer before Pruitt’s firing. The newspaper reported that Fulmer seemed oblivious to Pruitt’s actions or was at least feigning ignorance.
“I am not (at) all advocating a change in football and hope we do not get there with pending issues,” Fulmer wrote in an email to Tennessee’s chancellor, Donde Plowman, at the time. “I do believe we can overcome our challenges, and I have seen signs of progress.”
