What Greg Sankey said about former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt hired as analyst
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey believes former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt’s new role at Jacksonville State is “appropriate.”
Sankey spoke to media before Tennessee football played Oklahoma at Neyland Stadium on Nov. 1.
“You’re asking me a question that is really dictated by someone other than me, so that’s not up to me,” Sankey said. “There was an infractions case and then an outcome. I haven’t reviewed what’s happened this week. But his engagement with an athletic program is still under that show-cause, so it seems entirely appropriate as long as he complies with that show-cause order.”
UT fired Pruitt for cause in January 2021 in the early stages of a yearslong recruiting scandal. It began with an internal investigation in November 2020 and ended with an NCAA verdict in July 2023.
The NCAA put UT football on probation for five years as punishment for more than 200 violations committed under Pruitt, and it gave Pruitt a six-year show-cause. That meant a university could not hire Pruitt without NCAA approval during the length of his ban.
Jacksonville State received clearance from the NCAA to hire Pruitt as an off-the-field analyst on Oct. 31.
In March, Pruitt sued the NCAA, claiming $100 million in lost wages due to his 2021 firing and six-year show-cause penalty.
In the lawsuit, Pruitt alleges that UT and the NCAA conspired to make him the “sacrificial lamb” for rules violations that preceded his tenure as Vols coach.
He also believes that he shouldn’t be punished for allegedly paying players because the NCAA now allows athletes to receive compensation for their name, image and likeness.
Pruitt coached the Vols from 2018-20 and was 16-19 with a Gator Bowl victory in 2019.
Since 2023, he has served as an assistant coach at his alma mater Plainview High School in Rainsville, Alabama.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Greg Sankey said about former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos