According to Pat Forde of SI, the Tennessee Volunteers are the subject of another NCAA investigation into possible rules infractions.
Forde cites sources to suggest that the infractions are “major” in magnitude, spanning several sports with negligible benefits for players.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions stated that the case against the Volunteers was “one of the worst the COI has seen” after the team was fined for breaking more than 200 rules in the football program last summer.
Tennessee informed “SI” that the investigation was underway, but it claimed not to have gotten any notification of the claims.
Associate director of communications Meghan Durham Wright told SI, “With rare exceptions, the NCAA does not comment on current, pending, or potential investigations due to confidentiality rules put in place by member schools.”
According to Forde, who cites sources, Tennessee doesn’t think it has broken any laws.
A six-year show-cause order was given to former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt in July for what the NCAA Committee on Infractions called “aggravated” infractions committed while he was employed in Knoxville.
Pruitt and a number of his Volunteers employees were accused of 18 NCAA infractions spanning over 200 individual infractions that happened between 2018 and 20 and involved 29 recruits, their families, and 10 active players. Recruiting during the NCAA-mandated COVID-19 dead period and receiving more than $60,000 in illicit cash and incentives were among the accusations.
In issuing the sanctions, the panel stated that “the head coach and other members of his staff acted with general and blatant disregard for rules compliance.” Pruitt was accused of acting unethically and neglecting to carry out his head coach duties for his team.
Tennessee as an organization was hit with several recruiting restrictions, put on five years of probation, fined $8 million, had its scholarships cut by 28 over the course of five years, and had to give up all wins in which ineligible student-athletes took part. However, the school was spared a postseason ban. The school was accused of “Failure to Monitor” its football program, even though it has already self-imposed multiple punishments.
Since Tennessee had previously reduced its scholarship offer by 16, the NCAA added 12. Following self-imposed reductions by the school through the 2022–2023 recruiting season, the NCAA further restricted official visits and recruiting communications during the probationary period.