INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA serves the roles of judge, jury and prosecutor in its enforcement.
But unlike the typical court of law, college athletics’ governing body doesn’t necessarily follow precedents in its ruling, a factor that tosses a wrench into a unique situation for Tennessee in its hearing today before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions.
“The committee decides penalties case-by-case,” the NCAA’s enforcement website states. “Each case is unique, and applying case precedent is difficult [if not impossible] because all cases are different. Each case has its own aggravating and mitigating factors, and the committee considers both sides in assessing penalties.”
Of all the infractions cases it has encountered, though, the COI will see one of the weirdest ones with UT, which assembles in Indianapolis with former football coach Lane Kiffin, former men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl and lame-duck athletic director Mike Hamilton.
With 11 of the 12 major violations the NCAA alleged as a result of its 22-month investigation being against Kiffin and Pearl, the university figures to dodge most of the stiffest sanctions. That won’t be known, however, until the COI releases its findings and announces its penalties after likely six to eight weeks of deliberation.