Tennessee has fired football coach Jeremy Pruitt, two assistants and seven members of the Volunteers' recruiting and support staff for cause after an internal investigation found what the university chancellor called "serious violations of NCAA rules."
Chancellor Donde Plowman said Pruitt was responsible for overseeing the program. Tennessee has been conducting an internal investigation since at least the middle of November into allegations of recruiting violations.
"The personnel actions we are announcing today is an indication of the gravity of what we've discovered," Plowman said.
Also fired Monday were assistant football coaches Brian Niedermeyer and Shelton Felton, four members of the on-campus football recruiting staff, the director and assistant director of football player personnel and a football analyst/quality control coach.