Report: NCAA approves Jeremy Pruitt court order to serve as Jacksonville State analyst

Just days after it was reported that former Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt was seeking a court order against the NCAA to allow Jacksonville State to hire him to its coaching staff as an analyst, the NCAA has made its decision. The NCAA has reportedly approved the hire, per Bama247.

The NCAA officially accepted Jacksonville State‘s proposal to add the former SEC head coach to its staff despite Pruitt’s six-year “show cause” order that he was given in 2023 as part of an NCAA infractions ruling.

“We applaud the intentional effort that JSU put into its proposed plan,” the NCAA wrote. “The proposal, collaborative discussion at the hearing and outcome demonstrate the show-cause process working as intended. Additionally, the COI appreciates JSU’s stated commitment to compliance and its transparent acknowledgement that potential future violations carry risk.”

Pruitt received the six-year show cause from the NCAA as a result of the investigation into alleged recruiting violations. The investigation included an allegation of $60,000 in cash or gifts given to football recruits or players by Pruitt, his wife, numerous coaches, staff and boosters.

Jacksonville State head coach Charles Kelly worked for Pruitt at Tennessee in 2018 as special teams and safeties coach. Pruitt’s son, Jayse, also played quarterback at Jacksonville State. With his ties to the program, it appears that they are indeed offering him a step back into the coaching world.

More on Jeremy Pruitt’s legal battle with the NCAA

In July, the NCAA filed a motion to dismiss Jeremy Pruitt’s $100 million suit against the association and argued the court in Alabama “does not have personal jurisdiction” over the association. The NCAA added the court was “not a proper venue for this action.” If it were a proper venue, the NCAA said, “this is not a convenient venue for the parties and witnesses who will be involved in this action, nor would litigating this case here advance the interests of justice.”

“The NCAA is not subject to specific personal jurisdiction in Alabama because none of Pruitt’s claims arise out of or relate to any contacts the NCAA might have had with the state of Alabama,” reads the filing. “Indeed, Pruitt does not allege the NCAA engaged in any wrongful conduct in Alabama whatsoever. … Accordingly, this Court should dismiss Pruitt’s Complaint against the NCAA without prejudice in its entirety.”

In the suit, Pruitt claimed Tennessee was illegally paying players before he arrived and he reported multiple violations to then-Volunteers athletic director Phillip Fulmer in 2017. Fulmer announced his retirement at the same time as Pruitt’s firing, but officials said the decision was independent and unrelated to the football program’s actions.

Fulmer told Pruitt that “he would handle it,” according to the complaint. In the suit filed by Pruitt, he claims that the NCAA applied rules against him that “had been essentially abolished in 2021 by the United States Supreme Court ruling.”

“After his termination from the University, Jeremy learned that one or more individuals in the UT Athletics Department or boosters had systematically engaged in making payments to players at a time when NCAA rules did not allow such payments,” according to the complaint.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.