Sources: Tennessee expected to avoid bowl ban

The Tennessee football program is expected to avoid a bowl ban when the NCAA committee on infractions announces its punishment for the Volunteers on Friday, sources told ESPN.

Sources said Tennessee is expected to receive stiff financial penalties and recruiting restrictions.

Tennessee was charged with 18 Level 1 violations — the most severe in the NCAA rules structure — in July 2022 stemming from the tenure of former coach Jeremy Pruitt. Included in the charges were $60,000 in impermissible benefits and both Pruitt and his wife, Casey, making cash payments to players’ families.

Pruitt is receiving a six-year show-cause, sources said. Pruitt has been out of top-level coaching since serving as a New York Giants senior defensive assistant in 2021.

Tennessee is coming off an 11-2 season in 2022 under coach Josh Heupel, the program’s first double-digit win season since 2007. The Volunteers won the Orange Bowl and have significant momentum heading into 2023, which means avoiding a bowl ban is a critical step to the program’s growth moving forward.

The lack of a bowl ban continues a recent trend in NCAA cases, as the organization has gone away from punishments that are punitive toward current players, especially those who weren’t around when the violations occurred.

Tennessee was not charged with a lack of institutional control a year ago when the charges were announced, which lessened the potential scope of the penalties.

The school had spent the past few years self-imposing various penalties, including the loss of 18 total scholarships over the past three years. That is expected to reduce any scholarship restrictions from the NCAA.

Tennessee also self-imposed a reduction in official visits by seven and two home games without official visitors, along with 12 total weeks with no unofficial visitors and 34 total evaluation days.