NCAA gets sued for $100 million by former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt, who says he was "sacrifical lamb"

Former Tennessee Volunteers coach Jeremy Pruitt has not coached in college football for four years. He was dismissed by the Vols in 2021 after it was found that he had provided over $60,000 in impermissible benefits to recruits during his three years with the program.

In his suit, the former Vols coach claimed that he was made the "sacrificial lamb" of the scandal and that Tennessee was paying student-athletes long before he was made the coach.

"The NCAA conspired with the University of Tennessee ('UT') and others to make Jeremy the sacrificial lamb for conduct that long preceded his tenure at UT," the lawsuit contends.

In 2023, Pruitt was handed a six-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA for his role in the impermissible benefits scandal. On Thursday, Yahoo Sports reported that Pruitt was suing the NCAA in DeKalb County, Alabama, for $100 million in lost wages due to the penalty handed to him in 2023.

Pruitt signed a contract extension in 2020 that was worth $4 million a season with a $12 million buyout during the year that he was fired.

“The inequities throughout the NCAA’s investigatory process continued into its hearing on the allegations against Jeremy,” the lawsuit contends. “The NCAA hearing panel intentionally applied the wrong standard and burden of proof to the evidence; told Jeremy’s counsel to limit his presentation; and shortened a process that was more concerned with financial convenience than procedural fairness.

"The NCAA effectively established a tribunal designed to reach a predetermined conclusion: Jeremy would be blamed, the University of Tennessee would be commended, and UT would have cover for its decision to avoid paying Jeremy his just compensation.”

The NCAA punished Tennessee with a five-year probation and an $8 million fine due to its cooperation in the investigation while also voiding the wins from the 2019 and 2020 seasons in which the ineligible players participated. Finally, the Vols had their scholarships reduced by 28 over five years.

Jeremy Pruitt cites NIL as defense against NCAA penalty

Jeremy Pruitt was fired in 2021, the year during which the House ruling on student-athletes being paid was passed. According to Pruitt's complaint, he reported several recruitment violations to then-Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer but no action was taken.

In the lawsuit, Pruitt further cites that he was punished for a practice that is now legal and has even been expanded to a revenue-sharing agreement between institutions and players.

"After his termination from the University, Jeremy learned that one or more individuals in the UT Athletics Department or boosters had systematically engaged in making payments to players at a time when NCAA rules did not allow such payments,” the complaint read.

“Jeremy Pruitt may be the last coach in America to be punished for impermissible player benefits."

During his three-year tenure (2018-2020), Jeremy Pruitt had a 16-19 record with one winning season and one bowl game, but the Tennessee Volunteers have gone to a bowl game in each of Josh Heupel's four seasons in charge.