Following a 22-month investigation of UT’s men’s basketball, baseball, and football programs, the NCAA forwarded to UT a 26-page “Notice of Allegations,” which was received by the university on February 22. Allegations against Head Coach Bruce Pearl included unethical conduct (for lying to investigators); failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance and failing to monitor the activities of assistant men’s basketball coaches; and impermissible contact with prospective student athletes, along with Coach Tony Jones. In addition, the NCAA alleged 96 impermissible telephone recruiting calls to 12 prospective players or their family members by Pearl or assistant coaches; and Assistant Coaches Forbes, Shay, and Jones were cited for violating the NCAA’s principles of honesty by failing to provide full and complete information during the NCAA investigation and failure to protect the integrity of the investigation. UT was alleged to have failed to monitor the men’s basketball coaching staff with regard to the excess phone calls made by staff.
Football program allegations were against former coach Lane Kiffin, not UT, and included his failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program and failure to monitor the activities regarding compliance of several assistant coaches and an athletics administrator. Because the allegations were against Kiffin, the University of South Carolina, the institution which then employed Kiffin, also received a notice of allegations.
UT was given 90 days to submit its response to the NCAA, and a hearing was scheduled before the NCAA Committee on Infractions for June 10. On Tuesday, June 7, Athletics Director Mike Hamilton resigned.
On August 23, following UT’s appearance before the infractions committee in June, the NCAA announced its final ruling on violations. The NCAA accepted UT’s 20 self-imposed penalties, including a two-year probationary period, effective August 24, 2011, already implemented by UT and the SEC. No additional sanctions were added to either the football or basketball program.
Kiffin was not penalized by the NCAA after the committee charged him with committing 12 secondary violations, all involving recruiting. Bruce Pearl was given a three-year show-cause penalty for the unethical conduct and failure to monitor charges. The NCAA Committee on Infractions report stated: “Head coaches bear primary responsibility for monitoring all aspects of their programs and promoting an atmosphere for compliance. It is also presumed that head coaches know or should know of violations in their programs, particularly when the violations occur over an extended period of time. Three of Pearl’s assistants—Tony Jones, Steve Forbes, and Jason Shay—were all given one-year show-cause penalties for failing to cooperate and to act with honesty and sportsmanship. The sanctions effectively banned the former coaches from coaching in the NCAA for the duration of their penalties.