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UT reports minor NCAA violations for 2018

Many of UT's minor Level III violations resulted in no action at all after addressing the issue with those involved.

Since February, the University of Tennessee has reported a total of six different Level III violations.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's website describes level III violations as "isolated or limited in nature, can be inadvertent in nature and only provides a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage."

Associate athletics Director for Compliance at UT Andrew Donovan said these types of violations, while seemingly minor, are still causes for concern.

“It might be a misunderstanding of a rule, it’s generally something you’re not receiving a large advantage in terms of that violation," Donovan said.

To put it into perspective, the violations could be as simple as a prospect eating free popcorn during an unofficial visit.

Some examples of these violations detailed in UT's report include a prospective athlete accepting popcorn and water from a hospitality room. Another describes an institutional staff member donating football tickets to a local auction with the proceeds going to a local high school.

The rules are also constantly changing and sometimes extremely precise. In the past, there used to exist a rule saying the university could provide bagels for players -- but not with cream cheese. That's no longer a rule after officials updated it, believing it had gotten out of hand.

According to NCAA, 95 percent of all Level III incidents result in penalties. The penalties can sometimes include letters of education informing the party of the violation. But action can be taken by both the SEC and the NCAA.

Donovan said there are so many NCAA rules that it is common to have a level III slip up every once and a while.

"If you look at the bylaws themselves and then the interpretations of the rules, there's probably tens of thousands," Donovan said.

According to NCAA, football, men's basketball and women's basketball have the highest number of Level III violations.

The most common types of violations include recruiting, amateurism and eligibility, awards/benefits, academics and general requirements, and playing and practice seasons.

Many of UT's minor Level III violations resulted in no action at all after addressing the issue with those involved.

NCAA found that in 2017, Level III violations resulted in the lowest number of fines that year.

While these violations are small, Donovan believes they present opportunity for universities to do better.

"This is common across the country, we just use them as teaching points," Donovan said. "Our coaches are going to maintain a culture of compliance at the university."

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