Report: Tennessee Investigated for ‘Major’ NCAA Rules Violations in Multiple Sports

Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 30, 2024

Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The University of Tennessee could be facing significant NCAA sanctions down the line.

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated reported the SEC athletic program “is immersed in another NCAA investigation of potential rules violations” with one source describing it as a “major” inquiry.

While there weren’t many details revealed, it is said to involve multiple sports and possible name, image and likeness violations.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel confirmed the report:

Pete Thamel @PeteThamelThe investigation puts Tennessee in the crosshairs as a repeat violator from recent NCAA ruling in July of 2023 from violations from former coach Jeremy Pruitt’s tenure. Tennessee’s argument in the case will be tied to vagaries in NIL rules.

As both Thamel and Forde highlighted, Tennessee’s biggest concern could be that it is a repeat violator following the NCAA’s 2023 punishment against the football team. Forde noted the NCAA Committee on Infractions deemed that case “one of the worst the COI has seen.”

It involved more than 200 rules infractions and 18 Level I violations from the football team alone.

Despite those violations, the COI avoided giving the Volunteers a postseason ban. Instead, they were fined more than $8 million, forced to vacate 11 wins from the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, and given various recruiting restrictions.

What’s more, former head coach Jeremy Pruitt—who was fired as part of Tennessee’s internal investigation—was given a six-year show-cause penalty.

Forde reported the COI said it was “reserving postseason bans for Level I cases that lack exemplary cooperation” at the time of the punishment, but another significant case so soon after the last one could bring that into play.

The NIL era is still relatively new in college football and sports in general, and one source told Forde that Tennessee does not believe it committed any violations given the NCAA’s “vague and contradictory” guidance in the area.

This comes at a time when Tennessee is just starting to build some momentum under head coach Josh Heupel.

After failing to win double-digit games in 14 consecutive seasons, the Volunteers went 11-2 and won the Orange Bowl during his second year in 2022. They followed with a 9-4 record and Citrus Bowl victory in 2023 and seem to be trending toward a return to national relevance after some down years.

Yet significant sanctions could halt that momentum, especially as the SEC becomes even more competitive with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma.