Why is UT afraid of the NCAA?

[WhatInVolnation]

I cannot figure out why UT goes weak in the knees whenever it *might* have NCAA issues. Almost all other programs know that the NCAA actually has very little power these days. When college sports (namely, football and men’s basketball) were nowhere near the moneymakers that they are now, a centralized body that maintained order for amateur sports made sense. But now the money is huge and so much of the NCAA’s rules are hopelessly outdated. The NCAA, moreover, derives the majority of its revenue from the men’s NCAA tournament because it’s the sole property it owns exclusively and it derives some additional money from college football and it could not exist without the revenue from those two sports and virtually all of it is attributable to the P5 programs. The NCAA needs the P5 more than the P5 needs the NCAA and EVERY program except UT knows this and acts accordingly. As just a partial list, UNC and LSU tell the NCAA to pound sand related to their basketball programs and virtually nothing happens and Miami tells the NCAA to pound sand for across the board AD issues and virtually nothing happens. UT, instead, cowers before the NCAA and fired Bruce Pearl (our most successful men’s basketball coach ever) over minor issues and now has fired Pruitt purportedly because of the NCAA issues (whether it was a pretext or not that was the cited reason). And so, I think UT’s lack of a backbone with dealing with the NCAA is just further evidence that UT is not willing to do what is necessary to win and I think potential coaches know UT is weak when it comes to protecting the sports programs from the NCAA and that costs UT.

 

[volsknx]

IMO it is because an institution such as the NCAA as a representative for Div 1 sports be the point source for revenue thus more money than individualized programs.

 

[Mtnvol80]

I wouldn't say afraid. The idiots decided to burn the program down instead of paying Pruitt

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

TN has had a great reputation of staying clear of the really bad scandals and reacted harshly when lesser ones surfaced. Now that the Gump has tarnished TN’s record, nothing wrong with going all in with the shady business. Especially since the NCAA has apparently been neutered.

 

[bamawriter]

UT isn't afraid of the NCAA. The spectre of the NCAA provided a convenient out to avoid paying Pruitt's buyout.

 

[jp1]

UT isn't afraid of the NCAA. The spectre of the NCAA provided a convenient out to avoid paying Pruitt's buyout.

Which was beyond dumb in my opinion.

 

[bamawriter]

Which was beyond dumb in my opinion.

I can understand the decision, given the financial issues within the athletic department. But they're going to wind up paying Pruitt a decent chunk while inviting headaches from Indianapolis.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Because TN has weak leadership at the top.