On Monday, the University of Tennessee fired head football coach Jeremy Pruitt and several staff members following an internal investigation into potential violations of NCAA rules.
Dan Patrick shared additional information on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday, claiming that assistant coaches from the Volunteers football team placed money in McDonald’s bags and gave them to recruits during their visits:
“The assistant coaches literally acted as bag men. They placed money inside McDonald’s bags and handed them to recruits. According to my source, this was done blatantly without any attempt to conceal it. My source mentioned that ‘Tennessee became careless. Georgia also slipped up, but there has been no talk of the NCAA probing Georgia. However, Tennessee was careless and was distributing money in McDonald’s bags.'”
Wes Rucker from 247Sports later stated that multiple individuals associated with the program vehemently rejected Patrick’s claims.
University chancellor Donde Plowman described the investigation’s magnitude as “astonishing”:
“As of now, what I can share is that the information provided today points to numerous serious violations of NCAA rules. While we must request your patience as both the University and NCAA carry out their investigations, the administrative steps we are taking today underscore the seriousness of what we have uncovered.
“What is astonishing is the sheer number of violations and the attempts to conceal these transgressions.”
Kevin Steele has been appointed as the interim head coach for Tennessee while the university pursues a replacement.
