Tennessee chancellor says NCAA allegations of NIL rules violations are untrue and flawed

January 30, 2024

Associated Press,

By TERESA M. WALKER and RALPH D. RUSSO
AP Sports Writers

Abstract:
Chancellor Donde Plowman tells NCAA president that allegations Tennessee violated rules overseeing name, image and likeness are “factually untrue and procedurally flawed.” Her letter released by the university Tuesday was written Monday after a meeting between Tennessee officials and NCAA representatives to discuss the allegations. Plowman calls it “intellectually dishonest” for NCAA staff to pursue infractions cases as if students have no NIL rights. She also notes it’s not like institutions are “willfully violating” a clear set of rules. The NCAA’s policy is to refrain from commenting publicly about current, pending or potential investigations. The NIL supporting Tennessee athletes was among the first to emerge after the NCAA lifted its ban on athletes making money off their fame.

Chancellor Donde Plowman told the NCAA president that allegations Tennessee violated rules overseeing name, image and likeness are “factually untrue and procedurally flawed,” in a letter released Tuesday by the university.

Plowman wrote Monday in a letter to Charlie Baker shortly after Tennessee officials met with NCAA representatives to discuss the allegations that it was “intellectually dishonest” considering that leaders of collegiate sports owe it to students and their families to act in their best interest with clear rules.

“Instead, 2 1/2 years of vague and contradictory NCAA memos, emails and ‘guidance’ about name, image and likeness (NIL) has created extraordinary chaos that student-athletes and institutions are struggling to navigate,” Plowman wrote in the letter first obtained by the Knox News. “In short, the NCAA is failing.”

Plowman wrote that she appreciated the NCAA staff listening to Tennessee’s arguments and agreeing to evaluate them. But she also noted it’s “intellectually dishonest” for NCAA enforcement staff to pursue infractions cases as if students have no NIL rights or institutions “willfully violating” a “clear and unchanging set of rules.”

The NCAA’s policy is to refrain from commenting publicly about current, pending or potential investigations, with rare exceptions.

The NIL collective that supports Tennessee athletes, Spyre Sports Group, was among the first and most well organized to emerge around the country after the NCAA lifted its ban on athletes making money off their fame.

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AP – 2024-01-30T20:38:56.911Z