Former Tennessee coach, Alabama DC Jeremy Pruitt accuses NCAA of rigged investigation in $100 million lawsuit

Former Tennessee Volunteers head coach and Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt is suing the NCAA for $100 million in lost wages, alleging a conspiracy between the association and Tennessee, among other explosive claims.

Pruitt was fired by Tennessee shortly after the 2020 season after three years leading the program as a result of a recruiting scandal which alleged he and staffers were cheating by paying recruits improperly.

The scandal at Tennessee was really the last of its kind before NIL came into play and changed the game, making everything Pruitt and his staff allegedly did completely legal at this point.

Pruitt clearly has a sour taste in his mouth as a result and wants to get what he feels is rightfully his.

Alleging that the NCAA “conspired with Tennessee” to make him a “sacrificial lamb”, Pruitt is throwing out some serious heat within the complaint.

NEWS: Former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt is suing the NCAA for $100M, claiming the association “conspired with Tennessee” to make him a “sacrificial lamb”😳

(h/t @RossDellenger) https://t.co/NVVBqArm3W pic.twitter.com/asI55eevIy

— On3 (@On3sports) March 27, 2025

“The inequities throughout the NCAA’s investigatory process continued into its hearing on the allegations against Jeremy,” the suit says. “The NCAA hearing panel intentionally applied the wrong standard and burden of proof to the evidence; told Jeremy’s counsel to limit his presentation; and shortened a process that was more concerned with financial convenience than procedural fairness. The NCAA effectively established a tribunal designed to reach a predetermined conclusion: Jeremy would be blamed, the University of Tennessee would be commended, and UT would have cover for its decision to avoid paying Jeremy his just compensation.”

Pruitt was given a six-year show cause after he was fired in 2021, meaning any school that wanted to hire him before 2027 would have to not allow him to coach for the first full season on campus, which of course effectively ended any chance he would be hired anywhere.

Perhaps the most significant allegation made by Pruitt in the complaint is that Tennessee was already actively involved in illegally recruiting players before he arrived in 2021 and that he reported violations to then Athletic Director and former legendary head coach Phillip Fulmer.

When Pruitt was fired, Fulmer also announced his retirement, a coincidence – or not – that school officials claim had nothing to do with the scandal.

The kicker of it all is that whether Pruitt was guilty or not, nothing the staff did while under his leadership is anything that would even be questioned as not allowed today just four years later.

A situation like this encapsulates the radical changes in college football over just the last few years.

The scandal that rocked the entire sport less than a half decade ago would be no more than a blip on the radar today. If Pruitt simply argues this, he at least has a case that he should not be prevented from being able to coach and as a result has lost wages.

Further allegations surrounding a potential cover up by the university and one of the most high profile coaches in the history of the sport in Fulmer make this a potential bombshell story worth keeping a close eye on over the coming months.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.