NCAA levies penalties against Tennessee, former head football coach Jeremy Pruitt

Almost a year after The University of Tennessee received a notice of allegations from the NCAA, sanctions against the Volunteers and former head coach Jeremy Pruitt have been announced.

Tennessee will pay a hefty fine of $8 million, but Volunteers fans will be happy to learn they avoided any kind of postseason ban. As for Pruitt, the former leader of the program was hit with a six year show-cause order.

“Should the head coach become employed in an athletically related position at an NCAA school during that show-cause order, he shall be subject to a suspension from 100% of the first season of his employment,” the NCAA revealed.

According to Chris Low of ESPN, the fine against the Volunteers is one of the largest in history, and will actually be closer to $9 million when its all said and done.

“The $8 million fine imposed against @Vol_Football is one of the heaviest in history and will be closer to $9 million when you factor in all of the revenue penalties against the football program,” tweeted Low.

The penalties stem from an original report from the NCAA, alleging and detailing 18 NCAA violations, including an allegation of $60,000 in cash or gifts given to football recruits or players by Jeremy Pruitt, his wife, numerous coaches, staff and boosters. 

All 18 of the violations are Level I violations. Level I is the most severe infraction on the scale from one through four.

The NCAA claimed that Pruitt and staff gave players cash and gifts throughout his tenure in Knoxville, which spanned from 2018 to 2021. The report also details that his wife, Casey Pruitt, paid more than $15,000 in rent and car payments for a Tennessee player and his mother. That arrangement reportedly went on for two and a half years.

“During the head coach’s tenure, he and other members of his staff acted with general and blatant disregard for rules compliance,” a Division I Committee on Infractions panel said regarding Pruitt, via the NCAA.

Below is the full list of sanctions levied against the Volunteers and Pruitt in addition to the fine, straight from the NCAA.

Full list of NCAA sanctions against Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee Volunteers:

• Five years of probation.
• A reduction in football scholarships by a total of 28 during the term of probation, including at least two scholarships each year. 
• Tennessee previously self-imposed and is credited with 16 scholarship reductions from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years.
  • A reduction in football official visits by a total of 36 during the term of probation, including a reduction of at least four per year. Tennessee shall prohibit official visits in connection with a total of 10 regular-season home games, four of which must be against SEC opponents.
• Tennessee previously self-imposed and is credited with a reduction of seven official visits from the 2021-22 academic year, and the school can be credited for any additional reductions in visits from the 2022-23 academic year if they were imposed in connection with regular-season home games.
  • A reduction in football unofficial visits by a total of 40 weeks during the term of probation, including at least six weeks per year. Tennessee shall prohibit unofficial visits in connection with 10 regular-season home games, four of which must be against SEC opponents.
• Tennessee previously self-imposed and is credited with a six-week reduction in 2021 and two weeks during 2022, and the school can be credited for any additional reductions imposed for regular-season home games during the 2022-23 academic year.
  • A total 28-week ban on recruiting communications during the term of probation, including at least three weeks per year. This will include one week each in December and January and one week from March to June.
  • A total reduction in evaluation days by 120 during the term of probation. 
• Tennessee self-imposed and is credited with a reduction of 12 days in fall 2021 and eight days in spring 2022, and the school can be credited for any additional reductions it imposed during the 2022-23 academic year.
  • A six-year show-cause order for the former head coach. Should the head coach become employed in an athletically related position at an NCAA school during that show-cause order, he shall be subject to a suspension from 100% of the first season of his employment.
  • A five-year show-cause order for the former director of recruiting. 
  • A 10-year show-cause order for the former assistant director of recruiting.
  • A two-year show-cause order for former assistant coach 3. Should he be employed by an NCAA member school during that period, he shall be prohibited from participating in on- and off-campus recruiting activities.
  • A vacation of all records in which student-athletes competed while ineligible. The university must provide a written report containing the contests impacted to the NCAA media coordination and statistics staff within 14 days of the public release of the decision.
  • An indefinite disassociation of booster 2 (self-imposed by the school during the 2021 football season).
  • Additional self-imposed penalties:
• During the 2023-24 academic year, Tennessee shall forgo the purchase of advertising with all football postseason broadcasts in which it is a participant.
• Each year of the probation term, an external group shall conduct a compliance review of the football program, with an emphasis on recruiting operations.
  • Each year of the probation term, Tennessee shall host an annual, mandatory compliance seminar with an emphasis on recruiting for all football staff (coaches, part-time and volunteer staffs included). Staff from either the NCAA national office or the Southeastern Conference office will be in attendance.

More on Jeremy Pruitt, NCAA sanctions

Moreover, the NCAA noted in their original report that Tennessee provided “exemplary cooperation” with their investigation, working with them to find a resolution. The allegations do not include lack of institutional control. That charge would have had serious implications for the future of the program.

Evidently, their cooperation helped their cause in the end, as the NCAA noted they took “into consideration the board’s guidance and the school’s cooperation.”

“Under the strong leadership of its chancellor, Tennessee acted swiftly, thoroughly and decisively,” the panel said in its decision, via the NCAA. “… Tennessee’s cooperation throughout the investigation and processing of this case was exemplary by any measure.

“Although this case involved egregious conduct, (Tennessee’s) response to that conduct is the model all institutions should strive to follow.”

Additionally, former Tennessee inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer, outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton, director of player personnel Drew Hughes and student assistant coach Michael Magness were also handed three to five-year show-cause penalties as a result of a negotiated resolution, which were announced prior.

A show-cause penalty means a school will have to present reasons to the NCAA why it wants to hire one of them to its staff during that time period.

Paul Finebaum on Jeremy Pruitt: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jeremy Pruitt on a campus near you as an analyst within weeks.’

Continuing, now that everything is resolved and on the table, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum sees Jeremy Pruitt’s return to the sidelines in some capacity as imminent.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jeremy Pruitt on a campus near you as an analyst within weeks,” Finebaum said. “Because I think ultimately he’ll be able to move back to the field as a coach because I think that’s where we are right now. And it’s a combination of not only what the the organization and how they feel, and I’m referring to the NCAA, but it’s everyone else. 

“The people that have the power are the conference commissioners, and they just have too much else on the plate right now to be outraged by transgressions off the field.”

Regardless of the aforementioned sanctions, Pruitt felt like his time with the Volunteers made him a better coach, and that can translate when he gets another shot in the future.

“The longer you do something, the better you get at it,” said Pruitt, via an appearance on DawgNation’s On The Beat. “I think if you look at any assistant coach, first time coordinator, or first time head coach, the longer you do something you’re obviously going to improve at it.”

Tennessee went 16-19 in those three seasons with Pruitt as the head man. That came after defensive coordinator stops at Florida State, Georgia, and Alabama.

“(I) figured out that I couldn’t do it all myself. I had always been on one side of the ball. It was easy to manage one side of the ball and coach my position,” added Pruitt. “When you add the offensive element, the special teams element, the recruiting and all the things involved, it takes a lot of folks.”

Time will tell when and where Jeremy Pruitt pops up once again, but at least he can begin to move forward with his time at Tennessee firmly planted in the past now.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this article.