Turns out Bruce Pearl isn't under contract at Tennessee

On September 10th, Bruce Pearl held a press conference where he admitted to, among other things, lying to the NCAA about recruiting violations that he committed while at Tennessee.

He wasn't the only one that had been less than truthful.

You see, the day before Pearl's press conference, Tennessee had terminated their contract with Pearl. Since that day, he had been working under a letter of appointment with the University. A new contract was sent on October 8th to Pearl and his lawyers, and the two sides are still working out the details.

"We've made the decision — and Bruce knows it — that he's our coach, and this is just a part of the formal process to get him back under the new contract with the new terms," Hamilton said Thursday night. "Technically, he violated the terms of the previous contract, so that contract had to be terminated. There was a new contract [needed] as a result of that."

Shocking as this news is, the fact that Pearl isn't currently under contract isn't the most interesting part of this story. The interesting part is the letter that was sent from Tennessee to Pearl informing him of their decision to terminate the contract. (You can read the full letter here (PDF).) There is some pretty damning stuff in there:

On September 20th, 2008, you knowingly violated NCAA rules by hosting, at your house during a team cookout, three prospective student-athletes making unofficial visits and their families. At your house, you admitted to the unofficial visitors and their families that their presence at your house was a violation of NCAA rules. You also told the unofficial visitors and their families that your were not going to tell anyone about the NCAA rules violation, and you asked that they not tell anyone either. ... Your conduct failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance within the men's basketball program and conveyed the wrong message to a prospective student-athlete and his family about your stance, and by implication the University's stance, on compliance with NCAA rules.

On June 14, 2010, the first day you were interviewed by the NCAA relating to its investigation into potential rules violations in the men's basketball program, you failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance within the men's basketball program and failed to protect the integrity of the NCAA's investigation by meeting with your assistant coaches and talking about their NCAA interviews before you were interviewed by the NCAA later the same day.

Prior to and after your interview on June 14, you interfered with and failed to protect the integriy of the NCAA's investigation by calling the father of the prospective-student athlete who had been at your home during an unofficial visit on September 20, 2008. According to you, you called the father in part to "remind" him that your told the parents on September 20, 2008, that it would be a violation of NCAA rules for them to attend the team cookout at your home and that you gave them a choice whether to attend. At the very least, your calls to the father created the appearance that you were trying to influence the father's statements to the NCAA.

You June 14 statements regarding the photograph were dishonest, and you engaged in unethical conduct when you knowingly furnished the NCAA enforcement staff and the University's outside counsel with false and misleading information concerning the photograph. Although not necessary to a finding of gross misconduct, our conclusion is that your false and misleading statements to the NCAA on June 14 were deliberate and premeditated.

And the most damning quote of them all:

Based on the facts described above, Chancellor Cheek and I have determined that you engaged in gross misconduct, including dishonesty and other acts of intolerable behavior. As a result, the University is terminating your Employment Agreement.

After all of that, Tennessee is still negotiating a new contract with Pearl?

I know that Tennessee has sent a new contract to Pearl, but after reading that letter, I find it difficult to truly believe that the school is going to bring Pearl back.

(Ed. Note: I had planned on using the lead "Bruce Pearl really is a Volunteer" for this post, but freakin' Norlander beat me too it.)