The Weekender: Tennessee Had 200-Plus Violations Under Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt, NCAA Reveals 175 Sports-Betting Violations Since 2018 and Northwestern Fires Baseball Coach Jim Foster
Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.
Tennessee Football Had More than 200 Violations Under Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt
The Volunteers miraculously avoided a postseason ban after the NCAA found that the Tennessee football program committed more than 200 violations under its former head coach, including 18 Level I violations, the most severe. The infractions mostly involved recruiting infractions and direct payments to athletes and their families that totaled approximately $60,000. One payment was made by former assistant Brian Niedermeyer paid tight end Darnell Washington, according to Knoxville News Sentinel's Mike Wilson. Washington still picked Georgia over Tennessee.
Part of the reason Tennessee avoided a bowl ban was due to the Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti threatened legal action against the NCAA if it banned the current team from participating in a bowl game, according to Knoxville News Sentinel's Adam Sparks.
The weapon was a new state law protecting college players’ right to earn money from name, image and likeness. It was amended during the investigation to match UT’s needs. And it was leveraged by UT to produce a favorable verdict from the NCAA.
Instead of a postseason ban, the Vols will pay an $8 million fine “that is equivalent to the financial impact the school would have faced if it missed the postseason during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.” Tennessee will also pay an additional $5,000 fine plus 3% of the football program’s budget and a fine to address its ineligible competition in the 2020 Gator Bowl. The penalties could bring Tennessee’s total fine above $9 million.
Along with the fine, the Volunteers have been placed on probation for five years, will have their scholarships reduced by a total of 28 over that five-year period and total official visits over that period reduced by 36 while Tennessee will lose a total of 40 weeks of unofficial visits; it will be forced to prohibit unofficial visits for 10 home games, including at least four SEC games, over the next five years.
The Volunteers will also vacate its 11 wins during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, which the NCAA found that 16 players were ineligible due to impermissible benefits from the program.
Pruitt was fired in January 2021 after the recruiting violations were found in an internal investigation and would be forced to serve a one-year suspension if he is hired by an NCAA school before the end of the six-year show-cause period.
NCAA Reveals 175 Sports-Betting Violations Since 2018
In a day and age where sports betting has become legal throughout much of the United States, sports leagues – both big and small – have had to deal with some of its players betting on games that he or she shouldn't be. The same thing seems to be happening in college athletics as well.
This past Wednesday, the NCAA released a letter that showed that there have been 175 infractions of its sports-betting policy since 2018 and there are 17 active investigations, according to The Associated Press.
While the NCAA does not release details of active investigations, less than 0.25% of its approximately 13,000 sporting events “are flagged for suspicious betting patterns, and a much smaller percentage have specific, actionable information.”
The committed violations ranged from $5 wagers to “providing inside information."
Much like the professional sports leagues, the NCAA will have to get a hold of this before it gets out of hand. Then again, this is something that is new for the majority of these entities, so everyone is learning as the process goes on.
Northwestern Fires Baseball Coach Jim Foster
The Wildcats' athletic department has certainly had its hands lately. After firing head football coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday, Northwestern did the same with its baseball coach on Thursday, the school announced.
Hired in June 2022, Foster was being investigated by the university's human resources department before the season even started. In the end, it found evidence that Foster "engaged in bullying and abusive behavior" and made an inappropriate comment about a female staff member, according to a document obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
"Nothing will ever be more important to Northwestern than providing its students a place that allows them to develop in the classroom, in the community, and in competition at the absolute highest level, and building a culture which allows our staff to thrive," said Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Dr. Derrick Gragg in a statement. "This has been an ongoing situation and many factors were considered before reaching this resolution. As the Director of Athletics, I take ownership of our head coaching hires and we will share our next steps as they unfold."
A few assistants left the program in February and Northwestern finished with just a 10-40 record this past season. Sixteen players have since entered the transfer portal. Now, Northwestern must find a new head coach for football and baseball.
ICYMI
Dan Hope and Griffin Strom have a snake draft to determine their starting lineups for the upcoming season, consisting of the 22 Buckeye starters (or possible starters). Marvin Harrison Jr., JT Tuimoloau and Donovan Jackson were the first three players off the board as we drafted head-to-head lineups for a hypothetical game of Buckeyes vs. Buckeyes.
Ohio State hasn't been finishing games efficiently – and that includes the ones the Buckeyes have in the bag at halftime.
In an appearance on the More Than Coach Speak podcast, Jim Tressel said he "knew where we were heading and I couldn’t get us turned around" at the end of the 2006 season.
What's Next?
Source: Eleven Warriors
