Tennessee on Saturday learned that it had 11 wins vacated as part of the punishment for the 200-plus recruiting violations committed by former coach Jeremy Pruitt.
All 11 games won in the 2019 and 2020 seasons have been erased, wiping the Volunteers from the top 10 all-time in college football victories.
Sixteen ineligible players competed in all the vacated victories, a Tennessee spokesperson told the Knoxville News and ESPN on Saturday. The players were ineligible due to their involvement in any of the 18 Level I violations and 200 individual infractions committed during Pruitt’s short tenure.
Tennessee went 8-5 in 2019, including a bowl win, and 3-7 in 2020. The official record book will now show 0-5 and 0-7 records for those two seasons.
The vacated wins now mean Tennessee is 856-410-53 in its history, dropping from the top 10 all-time. The Vols are now No. 11 all-time.
On Friday, the football program was placed on five years’ probation and fined $8 million after the NCAA discovered more than 200 violations during Pruitt’s tenure.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions also cut 28 scholarships for the Volunteers, while Pruitt received a six-year show cause and will be suspended for the first full season if another school hires him.
Pruitt compiled a 16-19 record in three seasons in Knoxville from 2018-20. He worked as a senior defensive assistant for the New York Giants in 2021, his most recent employment in major football.
Tennessee avoided a bowl ban. The Volunteers went 11-2 last season under coach Josh Heupel and won the Orange Bowl.
The NCAA charged the program with 18 Level 1 violations in July 2022. They included charges that Pruitt and his wife, Casey, provided $60,000 in impermissible benefits and cash payments to players’ families.
Tennessee self-imposed several penalties after the violations were announced, including a 16-scholarship reduction over the past two seasons.
–Field Level Media
