Jeremy Pruitt reportedly admitted to multiple NCAA violations
Former Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt doesn't agree with the six-year show cause ban that he received from the NCAA last week, but he reportedly agrees that he should've received at least a small punishment. According to reporting from the Knoxville News Sentinel's Adam Sparks, Pruitt admitted to a couple of minor NCAA violations […]
Former Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt doesn't agree with the six-year show cause ban that he received from the NCAA last week, but he reportedly agrees that he should've received at least a small punishment.
According to reporting from the Knoxville News Sentinel's Adam Sparks, Pruitt admitted to a couple of minor NCAA violations during the hearing with the NCAA in Cincinnati earlier this spring.
Sparks reported that Pruitt told the NCAA infractions committee that he committed violations for the first time in his 16 year college coaching career while at Tennessee when he paid two players a small amount of cash.
Pruitt admitted that he paid one player $100 because the player didn't have money for food. He also admitted paying another player $150 because they didn't have money for formula or diapers for his child.
According to Sparks, Pruitt told the committee that he reported the violations to Adam Tate, UT’s assistant athletics director for compliance. Pruitt was willing to accept a one-year show cause ban for his actions during his time at Tennessee.
From Knox News: Pruitt offered to self-impose a one-year show-cause penalty. But he also argued that being fired for cause, forfeiting a $12 million buyout and not being hired by another school for the past two seasons should be considered ample punishment.
The small amount of cash in this investigation that's caused such an uproar — around $60,000 in impermissible benefits — seems incredibly silly given the nature of college football in 2023. Players and recruits are openly receiving massive six-figure and seven-figure NIL deals, yet Tennessee was drug through the mud for nearly three years because of a few three-figure and four-figure payments.
The NCAA has never made much sense. I guess it's a bit much to ask for them to start making sense now.
Why Vols fans should have a lot of respect for Jeremy Pruitt after NCAA penalties were announced
Tennessee Vols fans should have a lot of respect for Jeremy Pruitt after NCAA penalties were announced
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC
