No one can accuse University of Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman of being a one-trick pony. The NCAA can speak to her versatility.
In Plowman’s first go-round with the NCAA, she was the quintessential southern hostess.
She couldn’t have been more hospitable in the NCAA’s investigation of former UT football coach Jeremy Pruitt. She welcomed the governing body of college sports. Her response was basically “How can I help you?”
Plowman did all the heavy lifting before the NCAA even caught a whiff of Pruitt’s numerous transgressions. UT’s internal investigation dug up the recruiting dirt on Pruitt and his comically inept staff and practically wheel-barrowed it over to NCAA headquarters.
The NCAA subsequently lauded UT for its cooperation and focused the brunt of its punishment on Pruitt and his staff.
Conclusion: The Vols got off light, Pruitt got the dreaded “show-cause” penalty and UT didn’t have to pay its failed coach one cent of buyout money. Plowman deserved much of the credit for the favorable outcome.
Now that the NCAA again has come calling on UT, it has been introduced to a different Plowman. The southern hostess has been replaced by the fiercest of lionesses. She has removed the welcome mat, slammed the door, and called the NCAA everything but competent.
Miss Congeniality is now armed with a sledge hammer. And the NCAA is her target.
Why? Because the NCAA has alleged UT broke rules involving name, image, and likeness benefits for athletes.
That prompted Plowman to go scorched earth on the same group she once treated with more respect than it deserved.
Although I have lavishly lauded the chancellor for how she strategically steered UT through the land mines Pruitt left behind, I like this Donde better. Perhaps, that’s because she has been so unrestrained in her assessment of an institution…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/different-donde-plowman-greeted-ncaa-020150675.html
Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Publish date : 2024-01-31 02:01:50
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