Reports: NCAA slaps Tennessee, former coach Jeremy Pruitt with 18 total violations

The University of Tennessee received a notice of allegations from the NCAA on Friday, according to KnoxNews which obtained the 51-page report.

The report alleges and details 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 Volunteers fired Jeremy Pruitt for cause in January 2021. The NCAA noted in the report that the program provided “exemplary cooperation” with their investigation. The allegations do not include lack of institutional control. That charge would have had serious implications for the future of the program.

The NCAA alleges 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.

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NCAA alleges Pruitt staff paid for visits during COVID dead period

Per KnoxNews, the Tennessee personnel named in the report are Jeremy and Casey Pruitt; assistant coaches Derrick Ansley, Shelton Felton and Brian Niedermeyer; and recruiting staff members Drew Hughes, Bethany Gunn and Chantryce Boone. None of them are still with the Volunteers program.

SportsIllustrated’s reporting provides more details on payments to recruits:

“In the most serious of allegations, Pruitt and his staff hosted at least six prospects and their families on nine weekend unofficial visits during the yearlong dead period, providing them with lodging, meals, transportation, household goods and even furniture that totaled $12,000. Pruitt himself is charged with having made cash payments of $3,000 and $6,000 to two prospects’ mothers, the first used to assist in medical bills and the other for a downpayment on a vehicle.”

During Pruitt’s tenure, a report surfaced about Tennessee recruits getting McDonald’s bags full of money from assistants. The NCAA’s allegations do mention an incident with the fast food chain.

Coaches “arranged and/or provided approximately $255 in impermissible meals from McDonald’s.”

By firing Pruitt for cause due to his recruiting practices, the Volunteers did not have to pay him $12.6 million in buyout money. On top of firing everyone involved in the infractions, the Vols also docked 12 scholarships last season, per SI. Tennessee ended up replacing him with Josh Heupel who went 7-6 in year one.