New NCAA constitution might nix Vols’ bowl ban
Harsher penalties for individuals, lighter for teams
The NCAA ratified a new constitution Thursday that could provide a major boost to Tennessee's efforts to avoid a postseason ban in football for alleged NCAA recruiting infractions.
UT has not received a notice of allegations from the NCAA, Chancellor Donde Plowman told Knox News last week, and there is no indication when it will come.
So the football program does not know its penalties for violations the university says were committed under former coach Jeremy Pruitt, who was fired for cause in January 2021.
However, the NCAA'S new constitution pushes major college athletics toward a near future when individuals will be held more accountable than teams for infractions and postseason bans are rarely implemented as penalties.
The constitution includes amended language to “ensure to the greatest extent possible that penalties imposed for infractions do not punish programs or student-athletes innocent of the infraction(s).”
That means, when possible, the NCAA won't directly punish current coaches and players for violations committed by coaches and players no longer in the program. Narrowing the use of a postseason ban is a big part of that change.
It could apply to UT because it cleaned house a year ago, firing Pruitt, two assistant coaches and seven additional staff members when it announced an internal investigation into alleged recruiting violations.
Also, athletics director Phillip Fulmer retired. And several players transferred to other schools after the investigation began and Pruitt was fired. UT has not named players involved in alleged infractions.
What new policy could mean for UT
The NCAA ratified the new constitution at its convention in Indianapolis, passing with a vote of 801 in favor, 195 against and 20 abstaining. It will go into effect in August.
All three divisions will have until then to determine how they will adjudicate rules violations. And that effort will be guided by the Division I transformation committee, chaired by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Ohio athletics director Julie Cromer.
UT faculty athletics representative Donald Bruce was among 28 members on the NCAA constitution committee and one of two employees from an SEC school.
There's no indication whether UT'S case will be settled before August or if it will be grandfathered into the new process. But the new approach reflects a popular sentiment in college sports to avoid penalizing student-athletes for violations committed by past coaches, players or administrators.
If UT received a postseason ban before August for recruiting violations committed by former coaches, it would go against the new guidelines NCAA membership has already approved.
UT'S leaders know that, which is why they balked at self-imposing a postseason ban when they finished their internal investigation in November.
In a statement, the university said it considered the “rapidly changing landscape in intercollegiate athletics that includes transformative change for the NCAA” in holding its football program “accountable considering the nature of the violations.”
Plowman, who attended the NCAA convention, expressed her support for the amended language in an exclusive interview with Knox News last week. But she said her general opinion about the legislation is “disconnected” from UT'S case.
“I was pleased to see that language, but I had nothing to do with moving it in there. I'm not on that committee,” Plowman said. “It's really important to me because I don't think innocent players or coaches who weren't part of what happened should be penalized.”
What it means for Josh Heupel’s 2022 season
UT leaders think penalties should focus on the area of the violations — in this case, recruiting. That's why the football program quietly self-imposed recruiting restrictions and scholarship
reductions during the 2021 season ahead of the NCAA ruling, sources close to the situation told Knox News.
UT played the 2021 season with 71 scholarship players, well under the maximum 85 allotted by the NCAA, in addition to seven super seniors. And it's likely UT will self-impose scholarships cuts in the 2022 season to show contrition to the NCAA.
Self-imposed penalties have the potential to soften the blow from the NCAA if the program is found to have violated rules, but they offer no guarantee of protection from further sanctions.
UT is under new leadership. Athletics director Danny White replaced Fulmer, and Josh Heupel supplanted Pruitt.
Heupel was the co-winner of the Steve Spurrier Award, given to the best first-year coach in college football. The Vols had a 7-6 record and lost to Purdue
in overtime in the Music City Bowl in a turnaround season following Pruitt's 3-7 record in 2020.
There's an opportunity for UT to reach another level in Heupel's second season. Record-breaking quarterback Hendon Hooker will return after leading the highest-scoring offense in UT history.
The Vols have a manageable schedule with nonconference games against Ball State, Pittsburgh, Akron and UT Martin. And their first two SEC games will be against Florida and LSU, both breaking in new coaches.
Another bowl bid should be in the cards. One of the biggest off-the-field obstacles may have lessened with the ratification of the new constitution and the de-emphasis of postseason bans.
Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @Adamsparks.