Why the NCAA's ruling against Tennessee is far from fair

The NCAA has finally handed down penalties to the Tennessee Vols for the recruiting violations that occurred under former head coach Jeremy Pruitt.  And while the penalties aren't as harsh as they could've been — Tennessee won't face a bowl ban — they're still far from fair.  Here are the penalties handed down by the […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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The NCAA has finally handed down penalties to the Tennessee Vols for the recruiting violations that occurred under former head coach Jeremy Pruitt. 

And while the penalties aren't as harsh as they could've been — Tennessee won't face a bowl ban — they're still far from fair. 

Here are the penalties handed down by the NCAA on Friday (Tennessee will be put on probation for five years): 

  • 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).
  • Tennessee will be docked 36 official visits during he five year probation period.
  • A reduction of 28 scholarships (Tennessee has already self-imposed a reduction of 18 scholarships, which leaves 10 more during the probation period). 
  • $8 million fine to be paid by Tennessee

This is beyond overkill from the NCAA — especially considering programs are essentially openly bidding for players/recruits in the new NIL/transfer portal era. 

Pruitt's violations reportedly involved around $60,000 worth of impermissible benefits. Most of the violations occurred while Pruitt and his staff were trying to help recruits and the families of recruits. If anything, Pruitt's actions, which would be praised in any other setting, highlight the absurdity of the NCAA and their approach to governing student athletes over the last 30-plus years. 

And that's not to mention that numerous programs have had shady recruiting practices for years with no punishment (and sure, that could be considered hearsay, but it doesn't take much digging to find a recruiting world ripe with bribes, payoffs, and lies). 

Because of these penalties, Tennessee won't be at full-strength over the next five years as they attempt to challenge Georgia and Alabama in the SEC. The further scholarship reductions will harm the Vols' depth and the docking of 36 official visits will likely prevent Tennessee from landing some key recruits that might have otherwise landed. The folks that are at Tennessee now (coaches, support staff, administration, and players) are being punished for mistakes that they had nothing to do with. 

On the whole, it's not as bad as it could've been — a bowl ban would've been crippling for the program — but it's still an absurd punishment for a program whose only sin was self-reporting the violations that, when it was all said and done, involved an extremely minor amount of cash. 

Of course, I'm not sure any college football fans expected anything different from the NCAA, an organization that seemingly never has student-athletes at the forefront of their decision-making process. 

Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

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