The Tennessee Volunteers football program will be getting more than just an $8 million fine and some recruiting restrictions after punishments handed down to them in the fallout of the recruiting scandal involving former head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
According to ESPN’s Chris Low, the Tennessee Volunteers football program is being forced to vacate all 11 wins from the 2019 and 2020 seasons stemming from recruiting violations under former head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
Aside from the fine, the Volunteers were placed on five years of probation, including the reduction of 28 scholarships, according to Low.
The NCAA said in a statement:
“Over the course of three seasons, the Tennessee football program committed 18 Level I violations — encompassing more than 200 individual infractions — most of which involved recruiting rules violations and direct payments to prospects, current student-athletes, and their families, according to a decision released by a Division I Committee on Infractions panel.
“An additional four Level I unethical conduct violations occurred involving former university employees. The violations resulted in impermissible inducements and benefits totaling approximately $60,000. As a result, Tennessee failed to monitor its football program. Additionally, due to his personal involvement in the violations, the former football head coach violated head coach responsibility rules.”
During his tenure from 2018-2020, Pruitt allegedly brought recruits to campus on paid visits that were not considered official.
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During these visits, members of Tennessee’s coaching and recruiting staffs allegedly paid for hotels, meals, entertainment, and other benefits for prospects. On top of that, Pruitt and his wife Casey allegedly made direct payments to recruits, one of which the NCAA said in its statement was $6,000 “intended to be a down payment on a new car” for a prospect’s mother, “which is also a violation of NCAA rules and a recruiting inducement.”
That unnamed player appeared in 23 games, including a bowl game for Tennessee, and Pruitt continued to provide the player’s mother with cash and financial assistance.
Tennessee’s official record book is being updated to reflect an 0-5 record in 2019 and an 0-7 record in 2020. Pruitt’s record is being updated to 5-19 in his three seasons as head coach of the Vols.
The program replaced Pruitt with Josh Heupel, who led the Vols to a 7-6 finish in 2021 and 11-2 record in 2022.
