Lane Kiffin Escapes Penalties For NCAA Violations At Tennessee, According To Report

Lane Kiffin will not suffer the same fate as Bruce Pearl, instead making it out of the Tennessee NCAA investigation alive and without further penalty, according to report. Pearl was handed a three-year show-cause penalty as a result of an NCAA investigation into alleged violations at Tennessee. The penalty will effectively prevent Pearl from coaching in the college ranks until the show-cause expires. Kiffin, on the other hand, came out smelling like roses.

Citing its sources, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported Kiffin and the Volunteers’ football program will walk away relatively unscathed, with the NCAA instead aiming its cannons at Pearl and the former men’s basketball coaching staff..

The two major violations levied against the football program were found to be secondary violations and no further penalties were levied against the UT program, former coach Lane Kiffin or former assistant David Reaves.

All told, Derek Dooley, the current Tennessee head coach, made it out with just a few scratches and dings, all of which came from self-imposed sanctions levied by the school in anticipation of the NCAA investigation.

Instead of punishing the Vols further, the NCAA opted to drop the hammer on the coaches involved -- Pearl and three of his assistants -- while accepting the penalties Tennessee slapped itself with. Those penalties include two years of probation, as well as limits on recruiting calls and other miscellaneous sanctions.