KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Because the investigation into Tennessee football is ongoing internally and with the NCAA, the number of alleged violations hasn’t been released at this point.
We know that only the university’s counsel said it was multiple Level I and Level II violations.
What differentiates the two?
Level I violations involves a lack of institutional control. Examples being:
- Failure by the head coach in compliance oversight
- Academic misconduct
- Cash payments or benefits given to recruits
These are considered substantial or egregious violations.
Level II violations are systemic.
They can provide recruiting advantages but aren’t considered as severe as Level I. A Level II violation can also be a collection of Level III violations.
However, Chancellor Plowman’s description of the violations indicated it’s more severe than that.
“It was stunning. The number of people involved and the number of incidents.”
Donde Plowman
So, what can this mean for the football program? We looked at a recent example out of the SEC West.
Sanctions leveled against Ole Miss:
In 2017, the Rebels were cited with 15 Level I violations; penalties included probation, bowl bans, scholarship reductions, vacating wins, and show-cause penalties for multiple assistants.
To reiterate, the number of any level of violations against the Vols is unknown at this time.