The Tennessee football program has been punished by the NCAA for committing over 200 individual infractions. The NCAA's Division I Committee on Infractions panel announced Friday that the Tennessee football team won't receive a postseason ban, but the school has been fined more than $8 million. The violations occurred when Jeremy Pruitt was the Volunteers head coach from 2018-2020.

Among the hundreds of violations committed by the Tennessee football program, 18 qualified as Level I violations, according to the NCAA panel. A majority of the infractions included recruiting rules violations and payments to incoming Tennessee football players.

In addition to the lofty fine, the Tennessee football punishments include five years of probation and a reduction of 28 scholarships during that timeframe. The Volunteers will lose 36 recruiting visits while under probation.

“The panel encountered a challenging set of circumstances related to prescribing penalties in this case,” the panel said in its decision. “The panel urges the Infractions Process Committee and the membership to clearly define its philosophy regarding penalties — which extends beyond postseason bans — and memorialize that philosophy in an updated set of penalty guidelines.”

The panel found that Jeremy Pruitt violated head coach responsibility rules because of his involvement in the violations. About $60,000 in impermissible inducements and benefits were paid to Tennessee prospects.

If Pruitt is hired by another NCAA school, he'll have to serve a one-year suspension. He was fired following the 2020  season after Tennessee launched an internal investigation into recruiting violations.

In three seasons, Pruitt posted a 16-19 record with Tennessee. The Volunteers finished below .500 twice and never won more than eight games in a season during Pruitt's tenure.