Former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt gave the university an ultimatum earlier this month to either reach a settlement by Oct. 29 or face a lawsuit that would reportedly hinder the school’s athletic department in the years ahead.
Michael Lyons, the attorney representing Pruitt, told the USA Today Network on Tuesday that “this is the only choice they’ve left him with.”
Tennessee fired Pruitt in January after an internal investigation revealed NCAA Level I and II violations he had committed along with defensive assistants Shelton Felton and Brian Niedermeyer, who also were terminated. By firing Pruitt with cause, Pruitt was unable to collect any of his $12.6 million buyout.
The Lyons-led lawsuit, according to the USA Today Network, would “aim to embarrass the university and unmask widespread rule-breaking behavior that extends above and beyond Pruitt’s football staff.”
Volunteers basketball coach Rick Barnes responded to Pruitt’s claims through a statement Tuesday night to ESPN.