Did Tennessee receive postseason ban as part of probation? "Hundreds of violations" leaves aftermath, 28 scholarships revoked & six-year show cause

The Tennessee Volunteers have been penalized for recruiting violations under former coach Jeremy Pruitt. In addition to a six-year show-cause penalty and a one-year suspension for Pruitt, the Volunteers were fined $8 million for hundreds of violations.

However, one thing they did not receive was a postseason ban as the NCAA deemed the fines to equate what the revenue they would generate. They still lost 28 scholarships though, so recruiting over the next handful of years for Josh Heupel and his staff will be more difficult.

The program is going to have to be more creative with how it can entice players to play for the Volunteers, and it will be interesting how the penalties affect them.

Let's take a look at just how badly this will affect the Tennessee Volunteers in the next handful of seasons.

How will the Tennessee Volunteers look during their NCAA punishment?

The lack of a postseason ban is something the program has to be ecstatic about. Incoming recruits want to have their dreams fulfilled of competing for a national championship, and the NCAA did not take that away from Tennessee. Instead, the Volunteers still can recruit with the best of the best and sell players on the ability to compete in the Southeastern Conference.

Even coach Josh Heupel could not hold in his excitement about that not being taken away when talking to ESPN on Friday:

"You don't know until today what (the decision) is actually going to be. It's hugely important that our players were protected and the future players were protected as well. ... The logical thought is, how are you going to punish innocent peple and innocent kids? I'm certainly pleased with the outcome. For people, it's the right decision."

The recruiting side though is where things are going to be the most difficult. Tennessee has lost 28 scholarships (10 from NCAA, 18 from self-imposed punishment). The good part is the number was not too much more than what Tennessee had already done, so Heupel and his staff know the exact number now.

However, losing scholarships could be the difference in landing a great recruit or having him go elsewhere. There could be some creativity with the NIL deals to cover tuition and things of that nature, but losing scholarships and visits will put the Vols behind the eight ball.

This is a great day though for the Volunteers as they no longer are waiting for a decision. Instead, they got answers and begin moving forward as a university and football program.