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UT basketball coach Bruce Pearl suspended for first 8 games of SEC schedule by SEC today

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UT basketball coach Bruce Pearl suspended for first 8 games of SEC schedule by SEC today

Twitter: Mark Schlabach Pearl had already been suspended from visiting recruits off-campus for a year by the NCAA and had been docked about $1.5 million in salary by the school. The UT program is still under investigation by the NCAA over this matter but nothing has been decided as far as sanctions on the program. For the record, Alabama is Tennessee's 8th conference opponent, so Pearl will not be on the sidelines when the Tide visits Knoxville on February 5th. This situation obviously has nothing to do with the Cam Newton saga, but it is nevertheless interesting to note the initiative taken here by Slive on one of the most high-profile figures in the SEC. UPDATE: This article from ESPN gives further details, including the following statement from Mike Slive: "The suspension from coaching duties has been imposed after a careful review of the facts established during the NCAA's investigation and reported to the SEC office. I am extremely disappointed in the nature of the violations involving Coach Pearl and the Tennessee men's basketball program. The penalty applied to this circumstance is significant, which is consistent with the directive approved by the SEC membership in 2010 granting the commissioner authority to act in such cases."