Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel and Ross Dellenger are joined by Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated to discuss reports that the NCAA is looking into the University of Tennessee for possible name, image and likeness violations – this coming off the heels of the Volunteers being fined $8 million by the NCAA in July and vacating 11 wins. Hear the full conversation on the “College Football Enquirer” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

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PAT FORDE: This case was characterized to me by different people as, quote, unquote, “major,” quote, unquote, “big.” So this is not a small deal. And the timing is especially potentially problematic for Tennessee, since they are in the repeat violator zone, very, very freshly into the repeat violator zone, which can enhance the penalties. The big question is, can the NCAA actually enforce its own NIL rules? So far, the answer has largely been no.

That’s the approach. Nobody is scared of the NCAA anymore. This is going to be, in the words of one fairly informed person on this, going to be a firefight of epic proportion.

ROSS DELLENGER: I remember when the Tennessee– the other, previous Tennessee case was ongoing. And the NCAA had on the table the postseason ban. And I think that the university was close to getting all involved in the state to help with a legal approach, if that were to continue. And they had the hearing, and the postseason ban was taken off the table. And so we didn’t get to this point. It’s another NCAA rule being challenged by the courts, being challenged by a member school that, in a lot of ways, helped create the rules, and now being challenged by the court because the NCAA, as the courts have said now for years, is running in a legal operation. That’s how the courts view it.

And we have multiple complaints and lawsuits that would turn– make athletes employees. It’s just about as chaotic of a situation in the landscape of college athletics that I think we’ve ever seen. Soon, they may be ruled employees. And soon, schools may owe $3 plus billion. All of these things are going to contribute to real, real significant change coming, probably sooner rather than later. And this Tennessee case is just another example of that, another straw on the camel’s back.