NCAA hearing set in Tennessee football and Jeremy Pruitt recruiting scandal
Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee football will get their day in court, so to speak, later this month to finally confront allegations of 18 Level 1 NCAA violations during the former coach's tenure.
Pruitt, former defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley and UT officials are scheduled to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions for a hearing on April 19-21 in Cincinnati, Knox News has learned.
In an NCAA hearing, the Committee on Infractions hears arguments from all parties, who usually have legal representation. The committee decides violations and penalties and hands down a ruling, usually within a few weeks. The ruling is open for appeal.
Notably, UT will hold its Big Orange Caravan at the same time of the hearing, as current football coach Josh Heupel, athletics director Danny White and others are scheduled to meet and greet fans. The Big Orange Caravan is slated to make stops in Memphis April 18, Nashville April 19 and Knoxville April 20.
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The NCAA alleged the Level 1 violations − the most serious in its four-tier system − were committed by Jeremy and wife Casey Pruitt; Ansley; assistant coaches Shelton Felton and Brian Niedermeyer; student assistant Michael Magness; recruiting staff members Drew Hughes, Bethany Gunn and Chantryce Boone; and an unnamed booster from 2018-21.
Can Jeremy Pruitt avoid show-cause penalty?
In February, the NCAA announced Niedermeyer, Felton, Hughes and Magness received show-cause penalties of between three to five years., as different parties in the case have been separated in a new bifurcated approach to enforcement by the NCAA.
But Pruitt and Ansley have continued to fight the allegations.
A show-cause penalty will be among the sanctions considered in their case. A show-cause penalty means they are not allowed to coach or recruit in college for a period of time unless their future employer can successfully argue otherwise to the NCAA.
A show-cause penalty shouldn't be an immediate issue for Pruitt's former staff members because they're not working in college football. Felton and Niedermeyer coach in high schools at Valdosta (Georgia) and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida), respectively. Hughes is an NFL player personnel coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Pruitt spent the 2021 season as a senior defensive analyst with the New York Giants, but he was not retained after coach Joe Judge was fired. Pruitt is not currently coaching. In February, the Los Angeles Chargers promoted Ansley from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator.
If Pruitt can avoid a show-cause penalty, he would be a coveted defensive coach in the college ranks. He was reportedly a candidate for Alabama's defensive coordinator position this offseason before Nick Saban hired former UT assistant Kevin Steele in that role.
Why Tennessee has not settled with NCAA
In the past few months, negotiations have not yielded resolutions either between UT and the NCAA or the coaches and the NCAA.
UT disputes its responsibility for the violations. That was evident in its 108-page response to NCAA allegations, which it submitted in November.
In eight of the violations, UT argued that the “weight and accountability for these charges should rest overwhelmingly with the involved individuals and not the institution.”
Most notably, UT argued that it was not guilty of the 18th violation − the most serious against the institution, failure to monitor the football program. That violation would carry the harshest penalty.
Instead, UT said Pruitt, his wife, Casey, and his staff knowingly concealed their malfeasance despite the university's best efforts to follow NCAA rules in monitoring the football program.
From the beginning, UT tried to assist the investigation and perhaps get ahead of harsh penalties.
UT self-reported infractions, conducted an internal investigation with high-powered lawyers, has spent about $1.5 million in legal fees over the course of the investigation, dug up new violations that NCAA investigators had not discovered and fired Pruitt for cause, along with additional coaches and recruiting staff members alleged to have committed violations.
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: NCAA hearing set in Tennessee football and Jeremy Pruitt recruiting scandal
