NCAA Hands Down Official Ruling In Tennessee Infractions Case

The NCAA announced their final ruling and findings from their investigation into the Tennessee Volunteers and former head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

The day has come. The NCAA has investigated the Tennessee Volunteers for years due to prior recruiting violations committed by former head coach Jeremy Pruitt and his coaching staff. The Vols have enjoyed various successes after moving on from Pruitt and hiring current head coach Josh Heupel, but the possible sanctions were always a looming cloud over the program. The waiting is now over, and Tennessee knows what their punishments are.

• $8 million fines
• 28 scholarships reduced
• Jeremy Pruitt receives 6-year show-cause order
• Five years of probation

The biggest news of the day was that the Vols avoided a postseason bowl ban. They have played bowl games in each of Heupel's first two seasons and wanted to continue enjoying putting the program in primetime. Tennessee felt that a lot of their offseason momentum was spearheaded by their efforts in the Orange Bowl, a game that saw quarterback Joe Milton III win MVP honors and spark belief in Tennessee's fanbase that they could replace Heisman hopeful Hendon Hooker.

Another thing worth remembering is that the university's athletic department self-imposed 18 scholarship reductions, so they only have to cut ten over the next five seasons. Frankly, this decision afforded Tennessee much more roster flexibility down the road, as they would have been clearing up five spots per year on average otherwise. Two per season seems much more manageable for a roster filled with talent.

Former Tennessee HC Jeremy Pruitt during a press conference on August 1, 2019

Pruitt has already been out of the sport since 2020, when Tennessee fired him. ESPN senior writers Chris Low and Pete Thamel initially reported the story, and Low brought up that Pruitt could potentially get credit for time served and really be looking at three years left on his show-cause order. The NCAA may ultimately decide that he must serve the full six years starting now, as they did confirm finding over 200 recruiting violations across the three years of Pruitt's career at Tennessee.

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