If you come at the Tennessee Vols, you best not miss.
The NCAA learned this lesson the hard way.
Back in January, the NCAA opened an inquiry into Tennessee’s NIL dealings. The NCAA thought the next step in the process would be serving UT with a notice of allegations. Instead, the state of Tennessee sued the NCAA. And last month, a judge granted a preliminary injunction in the case, which means the NCAA can’t enforce any NIL rules while the injunction is in place.
Through that series of events, the NCAA is now essentially powerless when it comes to NIL.
And as a result, the NCAA is now pausing all NIL-related investigations involving collectives.
So that notice of allegations that the NCAA wanted to serve Tennessee with?
It’s not coming. At least not while the preliminary injunction is in place. And since it’s incredibly unlikely that the NCAA will win the lawsuit, there’s virtually no way Tennessee will be punished for anything surrounding Nico Iamaleava’s NIL deal (which was at the center of the NCAA’s inquiry).