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It wasn’t immediately clear almost three years ago that Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee football staff had committed numerous NCAA violations until an inside joke among coaches alerted investigators, documents reveal.

A student worker in the UT football program joked that assistant coach Brian Niedermeyer couldn’t take a pay cut during the COVID-19 pandemic because he needed to pay for nail salon visits for recruits and their families.

Knox News obtained the report of UT’s internal investigation through an open records request. It reveals the events that blew open the case, which led to Pruitt being fired for cause and now receiving a six-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA, which was announced Friday.

Seven UT football assistants and staff member also received show-cause penalties. A show-cause penalty means a university cannot hire a coach or recruiter without NCAA approval during the length of the ban. Pruitt’s show-cause includes a 100% suspension for the first year of employment should an NCAA school hire in him in any athletics position.

UT football was put on five years of probation, including 28 scholarship cuts, recruiting restrictions, vacated wins and a large fine. But it did not get a postseason ban.

On Nov. 13, 2020, UT Chancellor Donde Plowman’s office received a tip from an athletics department staff member. That person said they overheard members of the football program claim that some players were being “paid.”

UT alerted the NCAA and opened an internal investigation. Six days later, the university hired Bond, Schoeneck and King, a law firm specializing in NCAA infractions cases, to investigate further.

That much has been known since January 2021, when Plowman announced the probe and Pruitt’s firing.But the BSK firm’s report reveals where the case took a turn.

“An athletics department staff…

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Northwestern will promote defensive coordinator David Braun to serve as interim head football coach for the 2023 season, according to ESPN. Braun was hired by Northwestern to serve as defensive coordinator in January, but will now be assuming the role of interim head coach in the wake of the school firing Pat Fitzgerald earlier this week. 

The school fired Fitzgerald amid a hazing scandal that rocked the university as a plethora of former Northwestern players pointed out culture issues within the program. Northwestern initially handed down a two-week suspension to Fitzgerald to be served immediately, but as more allegations came to light, the school ultimately decided to part ways with the longtime football coach. 

“The decision comes after a difficult and complex evaluation of my original discipline decision imposed last week on Coach Fitzgerald for his failure to know and prevent significant hazing in the football program,” Northwestern president Michael Schill said in a statement this week. “Over the last 72 hours, I have spent a great deal of time in thought and in discussions with people who love our University — the Chair and members of our Board of Trustees, faculty leadership, students, alumni and Coach Fitzgerald himself. I have also received many phone calls, text messages and emails from those I know, and those I don’t, sharing their thoughts. While I am appreciative of the feedback and considered it in my decision-making, ultimately, the decision to originally suspend Coach Fitzgerald…

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Jul. 12—MORGANTOWN — Closing in on his one-year anniversary of becoming Big 12 commissioner, Brett Yormark spoke at Big 12 media days Wednesday about what he accomplished in his first year at the head of the conference.

“It’s hard to imagine that one year ago I stood before you for the first time, ” Yormark said. “As many of you know, when I took this job I did not have a background in college athletics. I relied on the advice and guidance of many people who helped coach me through my first year and heading into year two, I still have much to learn.”

Yormark, who came to the Big 12 from entertainment agency Roc Nation, stood at Big 12 media day last year and proclaimed that the conference was “open for business “. In the 12 months since his introduction, Yormark believes the conference has delivered on that proclamation.

“Since then we’ve jumped ahead of the line and extended TV agreements with existing partners through 2031, creating tremendous stability and clarity for this conference, ” he said. “We accelerated Texas and OU’s withdrawal, which was a win-win for all parties.”

Just three months after Yormark was introduced, the Big 12 announced a new media rights agreement with ESPN and Fox Sports. The conference also negotiated Texas and Oklahoma’s exit from the league to the SEC in 2024 and added four new teams, Central Florida, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati.

“This event kicks off our first-ever season as a 14-team league, ” Yormark said. “We plan to use this season to celebrate the incredible strength we have going forward with our eight continuing members, our four incoming members and also to celebrate the impact that Texas and Oklahoma have had on this conference since day one.”

Asked about the impact that the exit of Texas and Oklahoma, the conference’s two biggest brands, will have, Yormark downplayed it’s…

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Northwestern has fired coach Pat Fitzgerald days after details surfaced alleging graphic instances of hazing within the program, the school announced Monday night. Fitzgerald’s departure comes three days after he was initially suspended without pay for two weeks. However, university administrators opted to revisit his status with the program after two former players provided details of the hazing, which was sexual in nature, to The Daily Northwestern student newspaper. Defensive coordinator David Braun is expected to step in as a liaison managing the team before an interim coach is named, according to multiple reports. 

An executive summary provided by Northwestern recapped an independent investigation that concluded there was not sufficient evidence to believe the Northwestern coaching staff knew about the hazing. Fitzgerald, who has served as head coach of his alma mater for 17 seasons, claimed that he was “not aware of the alleged incidents.” However, as further details came to light through the weekend, university president Michael Schill announced Sunday night that he would reassess the penalty.

Less than 24 hours later as even more details of alleged hazing surfaced, Schill dismissed Fitzgerald.

“The decision comes after a difficult and complex evaluation of my original discipline decision imposed last week on Coach Fitzgerald for his failure to know and prevent significant hazing in the football program,” said Schill in a statement. “Over the last 72 hours, I have spent a great deal of time in thought and in discussions with people who love our University — the Chair and members of our Board of Trustees, faculty leadership, students, alumni and Coach Fitzgerald himself. I have also received many phone calls, text messages and emails from…

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