On Thursday, Tennessee Vols athletics and the university as a whole has been rocked by a new lawsuit that has come in. According to insider Ross Dellenger, former Tennessee head football coach Jeremy Pruitt is suing the NCAA for $100 million in damages related to his firing by the Vols.
As part of his lawsuit, Pruitt has accused the NCAA of 'conspiring' with Tennessee over rules violations that led to him being sent out of town in Knoxville. In addition to that, he has accused former Tennessee Athletic Director and Vols legend Phillip Fulmer of knowing about players being illegally paid long before he got to campus. The accusations are quite eye-opening from the former UT football leader:
A key point of the suit: Jeremy Pruitt claims that Tennessee was illegally paying players before he arrived and that he reported the violations to then-AD Phillip Fulmer in 2017.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) March 27, 2025
Fulmer told Pruitt that “he would handle it,” per the complaint. pic.twitter.com/eGOAvizEsV
Former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the NCAA
From the moment the lawsuit was made public, Tennessee fans haven't been too pleased, to say the least. As part of the suit, Pruitt indeed has stated through his legal representation that he made Fulmer aware of players getting paid not long after he was hired.
Per Pruitt, Fulmer essentially told him not to worry about things and that he would take care of it. Pruitt was with the Vols for the 2018-2020 seasons, but he was officially fired in January 2021 for cause. He was let go for several recruiting violations.
In his three seasons leading the Tennessee football program, Pruitt went 5-7, 7-5 and 3-7 (COVID season), respectively. He ended up being replaced by Josh Heupel, who just powered the Vols to a 10-win season and the program's first trip to the College Football Playoff ever.
Back in 2023, Pruitt received a six-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA following their investigation that found nearly 20 recruiting violations took place. For its part, Tennessee was fined $8 million, which is no small amount. Since then, Pruitt has been furious with how things transpired, leading to this week's breaking news. More from this story is sure to come in the coming days and weeks.