Tennessee gearing up for battle as NCAA shows its teeth

In hindsight, it would have been naive to think Tennessee would let the NCAA investigate potential NIL violations without fighting back.

News broke Tuesday that college sports’ governing body has launched an investigation into Tennessee athletics. Roughly 24 hours later, the attorneys general in Tennessee and Virginia filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Tennessee challenging the NCAA’s ban on NIL in high school recruiting.

At its root, it’s an antitrust lawsuit arguing the body does not have the right to put restrictions on compensating college athletes.

All of this comes as the NCAA starts to show its teeth and govern the NIL landscape. The NCAA recently levied sanctions on Florida State and is also investigating Florida for the Jaden Rashada saga – both are cases allegedly involving recruiting infractions involving NIL collectives.

According to the New York Times, the NCAA’s search at Tennessee centers around the use of a private plane to fly Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava to Knoxville while he was a recruit, with funds for the plane raised by boosters.

If one thing is clear, the Volunteers have been preparing for this moment for months.

Wednesday’s court filing included testimony from economist Andy Schwarz. Plus, Tennessee athletic director Danny White and Spyre Sports Group co-founder James Clawson are declarants. Offensive lineman Jackson Lampley joined White and Clawson on Thursday with a six-page declaration.

Tennessee’s fight against the NCAA won’t be stopping in the courtroom, though. White released a blistering statement on Thursday.

“The NCAA generally does not comment on infractions cases because there is a rule against it; however, that has not stopped them in the past from leaking information to the media as they did this week about us,” his letter, released on social media, stated.

“I refuse to allow the NCAA to irrationally use Tennessee as an example of their own agenda.”

Tennessee, NCAA fight only escalating

The NCAA released a statement on Wednesday following attorneys general in Tennessee and Virginia filing the lawsuit, stating “this legal action would exacerbate what our members themselves have frequently described as a ‘wild west’ atmosphere, further tilting competitive imbalance among schools in neighboring states, and diminishing protections for student-athletes from potential exploitation.”

In the past, the NCAA has reached a negotiated resolution with institutions in similar situations. Tennessee has no plans of waving the white flag. Along with the lawsuit against the NCAA, the attorneys general have requested a temporary restraining order that would bar the NCAA from enforcing its NIL inducement ban for recruits and players in the transfer portal.

More importantly, the filing states that the Court must grant the TRO by Feb. 6, the day before National Signing Day. This lawsuit is not an automatic win for Tennessee, though. Winning an antitrust lawsuit is a steep climb. Plus, the NCAA will argue institutions in Tennessee and Virginia have voted on the body’s roles as member universities. A scheduling conference was held on Thursday night, typically held to form a plan moving forward between both parties.

Things are only ramping up between one of the most powerful athletic departments in the nation and the NCAA.

Buckle up.