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View Full Version : Bruce Pearl Penalized by Tennessee



broncophan
09-10-2010, 04:02 PM
He admits to "misleading" the NCAA....and he still gets to keep his job.......amazing....

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5554682

Bruce Pearl penalized by TennesseeEmail Print Comments150 ESPN.com news services

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee has self-imposed sanctions against men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl for lying to the NCAA during its 17-month investigation of the Vols' program, athletic director Mike Hamilton announced.


Tennessee sanctions
Tennessee released a two-page list of financial penalties sanctions it has self-imposed against its men's basketball coach staff. Read it here. Report (PDF)

Hamilton is reducing Pearl's pay by $1.5 million over five years and prohibiting him from participating in off-campus recruiting for one year.

Hamilton said Friday that Pearl provided the information while being interviewed in June about allegations of excessive phone calls made to recruits. Pearl notified officials three weeks later that he had provided the incorrect information.

Pearl was present at the news conference and fought back tears while giving his side of the story.


[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Michael Patrick
Popular Vols coach Bruce Pearl is paying a steep price for misleading the NCAA in its investigation of his basketball program.
"It's serious what we did," Pearl said. "The worst thing is how we handled it."

"I apologize from the bottom of my heart that I let everyone down. I let my family down, the university down, our fans down, and I let my players down," Pearl said, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. "I have a responsibility to lead by example,and I expect more from myself, and so should you."

Hamilton also said assistants Tony Jones, Steve Forbes and Jason Shay would have their salaries cut by 25 percent and that there would also be off-campus recruiting restrictions placed on them during the next year.

The university received a letter from the NCAA on Friday, notifying the Volunteers of an official investigation into the entire athletic department, including possible recruiting violations under former football coach Lane Kiffin.

The NCAA has interviewed current and former Tennessee football coaches and recruits as part of the separate investigation into that program. The university has not received a formal letter of inquiry from the NCAA about that investigation.

The football program has acknowledged it committed six secondary violations during Kiffin's only year as coach. Last month sources told ESPN.com that the NCAA has widened its scope beyond the reported appearances of hostesses at high school football games.

Information from ESPN.com's Chris Low was used in this report.