The University of Tennessee now knows exactly what it’s up against in the NCAA investigation of football recruiting violations under fired coach Jeremy Pruitt.
In a notice of allegations presented Friday to the university, the NCAA lists 18 violations and almost $60,000 of cash or gifts provided to players and their families by Pruitt, his wife, numerous coaches, recruiting staff, and at least one booster.
Knox News obtained the 51-page document Friday.
In the notice of allegations, the NCAA credited Tennessee for self-reporting violations and its “exemplary cooperation” in the investigation. It also did not find the university lacked institutional control, a significant decision that likely removes the program from program-crippling levels of punishment.
The NCAA contends Pruitt and his staff gave players cash and gifts throughout his tenure with the Vols from 2018-21. And it says that his wife, Casey Pruitt, paid more than $15,000 in rent and car payments for a Tennessee player and his mother over 2½ years.
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All 18 violations are Level I, the most serious in the NCAA’s four-level infractions structure.
They include infractions allegedly committed by 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 the people named in the allegations work any longer for Tennessee. They were either fired or left on their own after the university began its own investigation in November 2020. Tennessee ultimately fired Pruitt for cause, an unusual move at the highest level of college athletics, and a decision that could be a major factor in limiting the punishment for the football program.
The NCAA goes out of its way to praise the way university leaders have handled the scandal, saying “the actions taken by the institution during the investigation should be the standard for any institutional inquiries into potential violations.”
The report lists 32 instances of recruits or players taking cash or gifts, but because the names have been redacted it’s impossible to tell how many individual players the NCAA identified because some could have been involved in multiple violations.
Now comes the penalty phase of the case.
Tennessee and the people…