Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee clash on Day 1 of NCAA hearing from 'Danger Zone' to blame game

CINCINNATI – As Jeremy Pruitt and the University of Tennessee administrators trickled into a conference room to kick off an NCAA infractions hearing on Wednesday in a high-profile football recruiting scandal, the song “Danger Zone” played loudly.

It came from the thumping sound system across the hall, where a boisterous leadership conference called “Coaching Excellence” was being held.

The setting and soundtrack seemed appropriate.

But the mood was more somber in the Taft Ballroom of the Cincinnati Westin hotel, where the former football coach and Tennessee faced an NCAA Committee on Infractions panel for their part in 18 highest-level violations allegedly committed from 2018 to early 2021.

Day one of the hearing finally ended after 10 hours, 22 minutes.

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The hearing is closed to the public and media. And all parties are under NCAA member-imposed confidentiality rules, so they can’t comment about the case until a full report is released in a few weeks or months.

But the strategies are known.

Pruitt is trying to argue that he didn’t have knowledge of violations committed by his assistants and recruiting staff. If the panel isn’t convinced, he could face harsh penalties, possibly a show-cause order that would pause his college coaching career.

Tennessee is trying to combat an allegation that it failed to monitor the football program. It says that Pruitt and his staff knew what they were doing was wrong but intentionally kept the university in the dark.

Most of the expected parties appeared. But there was at least one surprise and some notable absences.

Jeremy and Casey Pruitt arrived in good spirits

Pruitt and his wife, Casey, arrived more than an hour before the hearing. They were cheerful and even briefly spoke to members of the Tennessee contingent.

It masked the tension from the serious allegations they faced inside the room. And the Pruitts' body language wasn't as loose as the hearing progressed.

Former athletics director Phillip Fulmer arrived a few minutes later, followed by his longtime attorney, Jeff Hagood, from Knoxville.

Fulmer isn’t mentioned in the NCAA report. But he could answer tough questions about Pruitt’s alleged involvement or defend against any accusations that Pruitt might make of Fulmer’s knowledge of wrongdoing.

When Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman arrived, she narrowly missed Jeremy Pruitt, who exited the restroom next to the elevator a few moments later.

It could’ve been an abrupt and awkward reunion.

After all, more than two years ago, Plowman’s actions kicked off this series of events. On Nov. 13, 2020, her office received a tip that Tennessee players and recruits were being paid by Pruitt’s coaching staff.

Plowman tapped high-powered lawyers to conduct an internal investigation. Then she fired Pruitt, two assistant coaches and seven recruiting staff members for cause, and declined to pay Pruitt’s $12.6 million contract buyout.

Why Derrick Ansley and Brian Niedermeyer didn’t show up

Former defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley did not attend the hearing. But an NCAA spokesperson said there were Zoom call capabilities in the room.

Ansley and other parties and witnesses joined remotely. The NCAA does not have subpoena power. But failing to appear at the hearing could result in harsher penalties.

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Ansley left college football for the NFL, where NCAA penalties can’t be enforced. In February, the Los Angeles Chargers promoted him from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator.

Former Tennessee assistants Brian Niedermeyer and Shelton Felton, former director of player personnel Drew Hughes and former student assistant Michael Magness did not appear.

In February, they accepted multiyear show-cause penalties. That means they’re not allowed to coach or recruit in college for a period of time unless their future employer can successfully argue otherwise to the NCAA.

Niedermeyer was implicated in the bulk of the violations, including providing almost $60,000 of cash or gifts to players and their families.

Their absence may hurt Pruitt’s case. He is expected to argue that he had no knowledge of violations committed by his subordinates. They could’ve appeared and told the panel they acted alone.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey joins UT in show of force

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey stepped off the elevator alongside athletics director Danny White, who replaced Fulmer after his resignation in February 2021.

It was a surprise because Sankey doesn’t have to participate in member schools’ NCAA hearings.

However, it was a show of force by Tennessee.

Sankey is at the head of a new movement in NCAA enforcement that could aid Tennessee’s case, and he’s at the heart of how the university approached this probe.

Tennessee fully cooperated with the investigation, even uncovering violations that NCAA investigators did not find. The NCAA acknowledged that assistance in its initial report.

Tennessee also self-imposed scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions. It thinks that penalties should fit the nature of violations, which occurred in recruiting, and not penalize current players for violations committed by past coaches and players.

And Tennessee wants to avoid a postseason ban, which has been deemphasized as a penalty in the NCAA’s new approach to enforcement.

That stance follows the recommendations by the NCAA transformational committee, which put those elements into the new NCAA constitution. Sankey was the co-chair of the NCAA transformational committee, and he wields tremendous power as the executive of college football’s highest-profile conference.

How this hearing started, where it goes

NCAA hearings aren’t like courtrooms. It’s closer to a conversation than an interrogation. But it still can get heated during intense questioning from the infractions panel.

The setup for this hearing included four long tables connected into a square in the room. The panel sits together and, presumably, so does each side in the case.

Pruitt was accompanied by attorney Henry Gimenez, from the Birmingham-based firm Lightfoot, Franklin & White.

Gimenez specializes in representing universities and coaches in NCAA infractions cases. In 2022, he got favorable results for Memphis, LSU and Arizona in their high-profile NCAA cases.

Tennessee was represented by Kyle Skillman and Michael Sheridan from Bond, Schoeneck & King, a firm that specializes in NCAA infractions cases.

Skillman is a veteran in NCAA infractions cases. And Sheridan previously served as the NCAA’s associate director of enforcement, where he led investigations and delivered oral arguments on behalf of the NCAA in hearings like this one.

It’s a heavyweight matchup of high-powered attorneys. But the hearing began with an oral argument from the NCAA enforcement staff on the first of 18 violations.

From there, the panel questions all parties about each allegation. Tennessee and Pruitt can defend themselves or point the finger at the other party, if they choose.

That was just day one of the hearing. It will continue Thursday and likely stretch into Friday. You can follow coverage from Knox News online in real-time at knoxnews.com.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.  

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee clash in NCAA hearing as tension spikes Day 1