KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After the University of Tennessee Chancellor released an email sent to the NCAA and its president, and Tennessee and Virginia's Attorney Generals filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, the state and school are getting a lot of attention.
State leaders, sports commentators and sports fans have all been sharing their thoughts on what's going on. Mark Nagi, author of "Decade of Dysfunction: The Road to Tennessee's Crazy Coaching Search" shared his thoughts on the news that keeps unfolding.
He said Chancellor Donde Plowman made a good move.
"I think one of the issues that Tennessee had for so many years is that they found themselves reacting instead of being proactive in situations like this," said Nagi. "And what UT's Chancellor has done is to go on the offensive. I think that she certainly has the University of Tennessee's best interests at heart. And for years, I think that there were kind of warring factions at UT in terms of the administration and the athletic department. Now, I think it's fairly obvious that university leadership, athletic department, leadership, coaches, student-athletes, everyone is pulling in the same direction."
He said all the entities in Tennessee Athletics were coming together to show they were all on the same side. He also added that dealing with the NCAA isn't new to UT.
"This is nothing new. Tennessee just finished, you know, dealing with the NCAA six months ago which I think proved that the University of Tennessee really feels that they are not in the wrong here," said Nagi. "Tennessee has been extremely forthcoming. With the NCAA, we saw that in statements from the Attorneys General from the University President Randy Boyd, from Governor Bill Lee. Everyone feels that they've dealt with the NCAA in good faith. And at all levels, the University of Tennessee, they feel that that the NCAA doesn't have a case here."
He said he believes that the NCAA is losing power each year.
"I think that the NCAA, for so many years, was trying to keep student-athletes from being able to make money on their name, image and likeness," said Nagi. "That's obvious. The Supreme Court decision that showed that the NCAA was acting in an antitrust fashion really has changed university athletics, you know, nationwide. And I think that the NCAA is realizing that their power has decreased tremendously/"
Nagi said it's possible that other states could follow Tennessee and Virginia's lead.
"I think when you look at states where collegiate athletics is so much a part of the fabric — being Georgia, South Carolina, to Texas, whatever state you want to pop in here — and certainly other Southern states, I think it's quite possible they will end up doing something in the same manner," he said.