The University of Tennessee intends to pay $10.4 million in fines to the NCAA as its penalty for fired coach Jeremy Pruitt’s football recruiting scandal.
The money will go where Pruitt said it should’ve been all along – in a fund to help athletes in need.
On Friday, Knox News has learned, UT will submit the figure to the NCAA as part of the five-year probation handed down in July. It’s based on a formula from the NCAA Committee on Infraction’s verdict. Friday was the deadline imposed by the NCAA.
If the NCAA agrees with UT’s interpretation of the fine, the entire $10.4 million will be due in one payment.
The university will tap into its unrestricted reserves to provide a bridge loan to athletics so the department doesn't run into cash flow problems. Part of the fine is based on future bowl revenue that UT has not yet received.
What makes up the $10.4 million fine
The components of UT's fine are not surprising.
The framework is in the NCAA bylaws. And UT proposed similar terms in a preliminary plea agreement almost two years ago that the NCAA rejected.
Based on UT’s interpretation, its fine will be $10,433,041.60, including:
- $5,000, a core penalty for standard Level 1 cases
- $780,331.60, which is 3% of UT’s annual football budget
- $1,647,710, which is 50% of gross revenue paid to the SEC for UT’s participation in 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl under Pruitt
- $8 million, which is equivalent to UT's anticipated loss of postseason revenue sharing associated with the 2023 and 2024 seasons ($4 million each).
As part of its five-year probation, UT also vacated 11 wins in 2019 and 2020, must cut 28 scholarships over five years and restrict other areas of recruiting.
Pruitt said he paid players who had no options for emergency help
Where the NCAA will spend the money may make UT fans feel a little better about the punishment.
An NCAA spokesperson confirmed that it will go to the NCAA Student Assistance Fund, which helps student-athletes through financial hardship. The $10.4 million will go into the big pot that the NCAA distributes to member schools, including UT.
It’s an ironic twist. Pruitt mentioned the Student Assistance Fund when he was making excuses to investigators for why he broke NCAA rules by paying players and their families, according to documents obtained by Knox News through open records requests.
Pruitt admitted to a few isolated payments during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He said he gave $100 to a player for food, $150 to another player for diapers and baby formula and $300 to a player’s mother in a Chick-fil-A bag.
Pruitt argued that he was paying only for expenses that would normally be covered by either the Student Assistance Fund or Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund. But those funds were cut during the pandemic.
“If you go back and check my history with the Opportunity Fund, we’ve used it at Tennessee,” Pruitt told investigators in January 2021. “That’s why (any issue of my impermissibly paying players) has never happened with me. But (UT) had told me that we had no more money in the Opportunity Fund, OK?
“I would do it again because I don’t think it’s breaking the rules (based on routes that would be permissibly available in non-pandemic times). I think it’s doing the humanitarian thing, the right thing to do.”
The Student Assistance Fund is administered by conference offices and intended to help college athletes with needs that arise outside of expenses covered by traditional scholarships.
The fund has been used in the past to help athletes buy winter coats, secure flights home to be with ailing relatives and recover from tornado damage.
It is distributed annually to conference offices. For the 2022-23 academic year, UT received $70,000, an SEC spokesperson said.
Exclusive coverage: Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt learn NCAA penalties
- Recruiting scheme unraveled with fake names and loose ends
- 12 text messages that buried Pruitt, staff in NCAA scandal
- Auburn signee was poster child of Jeremy Pruitt's NCAA recruiting scheme
- Walter Nolen's impermissible visit to Tennessee cost nearly $3,000, records show
- How Tennessee determined its own fate against Jeremy Pruitt in NCAA recruiting scandal
- Phillip Fulmer was either fooled by Pruitt or feigned ignorance, records show
- Tennessee paid Darnell Washington cash. He still went to Georgia
- Vols assistant paid recruits from bank account shared with parents
- Fulmer's list of candidates to replace Pruitt included some wild names
- Derrick Ansley pointed finger at Pruitt in NCAA investigation. Here's how
- How Pruitt, staff members cheated NCAA rules—and penalty each received
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Emailadam.sparks@knoxnews.com. Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe. Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to theSEC Unfiltered newsletter,delivered straight to your inbox.
FAQs
The University of Tennessee intends to pay $10.4 million in fines to the NCAA as its penalty for fired coach Jeremy Pruitt's football recruiting scandal. The money will go where Pruitt said it should've been all along – in a fund to help athletes in need.
Does Tennessee have to pay Jeremy Pruitt? ›
Tennessee fired Jeremy Pruitt for cause and didn't pay his $12.6 million buyout.
Who did Jeremy Pruitt give money to? ›
Why Jeremy Pruitt cited George Floyd and Alabama cash in Tennessee NCAA investigation. Jeremy Pruitt said the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation's racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd and empathy led him to gift $300 in a Chick-fil-A bag to Tennessee player's mom.
How much does Tennessee owe Jeremy Pruitt? ›
Pruitt, thanks to his recent extension, is under contract until Jan. 31, 2026. That's five more seasons. If Tennessee fired him after the regular-season finale, it would owe Pruitt a buyout of about $12.8 million.
How many scholarships will Tennessee lose? ›
Tennessee can still compete for a conference or national championship, but its recruiting will be hindered. The football program will see a reduction of 28 scholarships during the probationary period, though it was credited with 16 reductions it self-imposed during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years.
How much money do you get for Tennessee Promise? ›
At a four-year institution, the TN Promise scholarship may not be last-dollar, meaning it may not fully cover all tuition and mandatory fees. The amount of funding you will receive will be based on the average amount of tuition and mandatory fees at a community college, which is estimated to be $4,700.
How much money does Tennessee have in the Rainy Day Fund? ›
Rainy Day Fund
This deposit will bring the Reserve for Revenue Fluctuation balance up to $2.2 billion by the end of FY 2025, the highest ever (Figure 3). This balance would cover about 38 days of state-funded General Fund operations at the enacted FY 2025 levels.
Does Jeremy Pruitt have a job? ›
On July 27, 2023, the DeKalb County School System announced that Pruitt had been hired as a physical education teacher at Plainview High School and would serve as a junior high boys' basketball coach.
Where does Jeremy Pruitt work now? ›
Pruitt was hired on July 27 as a physical education teacher at Plainview High School in Rainsville, Alabama. He also will coach junior high boys basketball at the K-12 school, according to the DeKalb County superintendent's office.
Why did tn fire Jeremy Pruitt? ›
Pruitt, fired in 2021, was hit with a six-year show-cause penalty in the verdict of the yearslong NCAA infractions case announced Friday. The probe found more than 200 violations of NCAA rules by at least a dozen staff members that went unreported in a two-year period.
Pruitt's new deal runs through the 2025 season and will pay him $4.2 million annually, although he has elected not to accept the $400,000 raise this year to help Tennessee weather the challenges all athletic departments are facing during the pandemic.
How much money did Tennessee get from the infrastructure bill? ›
Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed, Tennessee will receive approximately $2.8 billion for transportation to invest in roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports and roughly $121 million for clean water.
How much does the state of Tennessee owe Tennessee State University? ›
Bill Lee explaining that Tennessee State University is owed $2.1 billion in back pay for underfunding the school. Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee are land-grant colleges. As outlined in the Second Morrill Act of 1890, all land-grant colleges should receive the same funding.
Why did Tennessee get fined $8 million dollars? ›
Tennessee committed 18 Level I infractions, mostly surrounding illegal payments to players and a scheme where unofficial visits for recruits and their families were paid for, which is not allowed, per the NCAA. Tennessee's recruiting staff concealed the activities from their compliance staff.
What did Tennessee get in trouble for? ›
University of Tennessee athletics is under an NCAA investigation into potential rules violations involving name, image and likeness benefits for athletes in multiple sports, including football, a source familiar with the situation told Knox News on Tuesday.
What was the punishment for the University of Tennessee? ›
The school avoided a harsher penalty by cooperating well with investigators. The imposed $8 million penalty is meant to equate to the university's potential earnings from 2023 and 2024 season bowls and the NCAA pulling several scholarships from the school during the probationary period may slow recruiting.
How much does Tennessee volunteer football coach get paid? ›
The Tennessee Volunteers' blockbuster 2022 college football season paid off big time for head coach Josh Heupel. What's happening: Heupel's pay reached $9 million in 2023, according to the latest data from USA Today.
Do you have to pay interns in Tennessee? ›
Paid Internship Requirements
Paid interns shall have a set pay that is at least minimum wage, which shall be documented prior to the internship start date. Paid interns shall have set work hours, which shall be tracked by the intern's mentor.
Does Tennessee have sovereign immunity? ›
Yes. Tennessee waives sovereign immunity in several instances of negligence along with libel and slander. These claims against the State must be brought before a special court called the Tennessee Claims Commission and are subject to strict limitations.
What is the salary of the chancellor of Tennessee? ›
Chancellor Donde Plowman
Plowman has a base salary of $820,000. She received a 24% raise in 2022 after propelling the university to become the fastest-growing in the Southeastern Conference, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
