Jeremy Pruitt, the former head coach of the Tennessee Vols, had some unfavorable news to close the week.
Pruitt lost his appeal against the sanctions he was given from the recruitment debacle that resulted in his termination at Tennessee, the NCAA said on Friday.
Given the weight of information (a large portion of which Tennessee supplied to the NCAA) supporting the NCAA’s conclusions, Pruitt’s appeal was always unlikely to succeed.
Still, it’s ridiculous that Pruitt will serve a one-year suspension and a six-year show-cause ban for receiving unlawful benefits totaling around $60k, most of which went toward rent, medical expenses, and other expenses.
Even though student-athletes can make seven figures these days, Pruitt isn’t allowed to return to college football as an assistant coach due to recruiting infractions that don’t even come close to accounting for one month’s worth of non-intercollegiate wages for some of the best players in the country.
This is just one more instance of the NCAA acting without any common sense.
Regarding Pruitt, there are a lot of differing views, but I think we can all agree that the NCAA is taking advantage of him.
