The NCAA is investigating Tennessee for what are believed to be alleged major violations related to NIL dealings across multiple sports, sources confirmed to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd. The case in football centers around quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who signed a record contract with Spyre Sports Group, Tennessee’s primary collective and a member of the The Collective Association, a trade association of 30-plus collectives across the country. TCA has advocated for a revenue-sharing model for athletes that would not require them to become employees.
Tennessee has not received a formal notice of allegations from the NCAA, but it is common in some cases for the governing body to send a draft notice of preliminary violations being investigated.
The NCAA enforcement staff could charge Tennessee with multiple Level I and Level II violations, according to ESPN. This less than a year after the program was hit with 18 high-level violations due to impermissible recruiting practices which occurred under former coach Jeremy Pruitt.
Already having been placed on probation as a result of the findings from that case, Tennessee could be labeled a “repeat violator” in the NCAA’s eyes, which would mean enhanced penalties. However, the NCAA only applies the repeat violator label if a school lacks “exemplary cooperation.”
The NCAA also has gotten away from handing out postseason bans if they impact current athletes and coaches who have nothing to do with previous cases.
“The NCAA’s allegations are factually untrue and procedurally flawed,” University of Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman wrote in a letter to the NCAA obtained by ESPN. “Moreover, it is intellectually dishonest for the NCAA enforcement staff to pursue infractions cases as if…
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