Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti suggested the NCAA may be seeking “payback” in its investigation into the University of Tennessee because of the university's success in fending off a postseason ban against the Vols in the Jeremy Pruitt recruiting scandal.

And Skrmetti criticized the NCAA for its “pick-and-choose” enforcement of “opaque” rules involving name, image and likeness benefits for UT athletes while other schools go unchecked.

“I suspect given the aggression with which the NCAA appears to have treated the University (of Tennessee) that there may be a little bit of a payback situation,” Skrmetti told Knox News on Wednesday.

“Because UT pushed back and stood up for the rights of its students, it’s in the crosshairs again. That’s just not right.”

In July, the NCAA put UT football on probation for five years as part of the recruiting scandal under Pruitt, the fired coach. But the Vols avoided a postseason ban, beating the charge of lack of institutional control alleged by the NCAA enforcement staff.

Around the same time, NCAA investigators began showing interest in allegations that UT broke rules involving NIL benefits for athletes, Knox News has learned.

That investigation, which isn’t related to the Pruitt case, is ongoing. On Jan. 30, the new probe was first reported by SI.com and acknowledged by UT. The university has not received a notice of inquiry or a notice of allegations, key first steps in pursuing an investigation.

On Jan. 31, Skrmetti filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court against the NCAA over its “NIL-recruiting ban.” He said that timing was not a coincidence.

When asked if the UT investigation coming to light was his signal to sue the NCAA, he replied, “Yes, it was.”

Skrmetti believes the lenient verdict in the NCAA’s first investigation into UT could have been a motivation for the second one because in both instances the university defended players from what it felt was unjust treatment.

“Last time around, UT had done everything they possibly could have done to make it right,” Skrmetti said. “They were still threatened with a bowl ban despite NCAA guidance saying the bowl ban would be entirely inappropriate under those circumstances and really unfair to the students who had nothing to do with any of the wrongdoing.”

Skrmetti: 'I was totally ready' to sue NCAA last time

Skrmetti has been an effective ally for UT in both NCAA investigations.

Last March, Skrmetti, in a letter, threatened legal action against the NCAA if it banned the football team from postseason play as punishment in the Pruitt case.

Almost a year later, Skrmetti said he wasn’t bluffing in that scathing letter to the NCAA, which Knox News obtained through an open records request.

“It took me coming in and threatening to sue, or it may have,” Skrmetti said. “Well, I certainly did it. I’m not sure what the NCAA was thinking. I mean I was totally ready to litigate that.

“I can’t speak to what their decision-making process was. But I thought that was necessary given the direction that things were going.”

Skrmetti acknowledged that Chancellor Donde Plowman played the biggest role in UT avoiding a postseason ban. The NCAA Committee on Infractions agreed, citing UT’s “exemplary cooperation” under her leadership in its decision to lessen the charge and the penalty.

In the Pruitt case, Skrmetti told the NCAA that a postseason ban would violate state law because it prohibits players’ ability to earn money for their NIL.

“I will not hesitate to vindicate the rights of UT students,” Skrmetti wrote in the letter. “NCAA rules cannot supersede Tennessee law.”

Skrmetti’s threat appeared to carry weight, which both sides acknowledged.

UT petitioned to get the letter entered into the case record for its NCAA infractions hearing after the deadline, and the NCAA granted it.

In its response to UT, the NCAA accepted the late submission because Skrmetti’s letter appeared to be “pertinent to the institution’s arguments with respect to … the imposition of penalties.”

‘Nobody bats an eye at a Georgia Lamborghini’

In Skrmetti’s antitrust suit, he is once again aligned with UT’s fight against the NCAA.

On Feb. 13, he will argue in a preliminary injunction hearing in Greeneville, when the NCAA’s NIL rules could be frozen until the case is decided. A federal judge denied a temporary restraining order Feb. 6 that would’ve paused those NIL rules until the hearing.

Meanwhile, UT is pushing back against allegations that it broke the same NIL rules the suit is trying to abolish. Skrmetti believes UT has been unfairly targeted.

“It’s not a matter of the institution coming under fire because it’s done something and there were rules in place that are going to be enforced,” Skrmetti said.

“This is a pick-and-choose situation as far as I can tell – where nobody bats an eye at a Georgia Lamborghini but anything that UT does appears to come under significant scrutiny because the school tried to defend the rights of its athletes when it was scrutinized before (in the Pruitt case).”

Skrmetti was referring to Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who appeared to have purchased a Lamborghini Urus Performante, according to an Instagram post from Atlanta Autos on Feb. 5.

The starting price for the 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante is $260,676 but can get as high as $313,880 with extra options, according to Forbes. While details of the purchase remain undisclosed, Beck’s NIL deals could have played a role in financing the high-end vehicle.

Could Tennessee face postseason ban again?

The NCAA is investigating allegations that UT broke NIL rules in multiple sports. But quarterback Nico Iamaleava is a focus in the probe, Knox News has learned.

The New York Times reported that Spyre Sports Group, an NIL collective representing UT athletes, facilitated a private jet for Iamaleava to fly to Knoxville while UT was recruiting him.

If the NCAA deemed Spyre or the person who provided the plane as a booster, that would be a violation. Spyre denied that allegation in a statement from attorney Tom Mars.

On Jan. 29, Plowman sent a sharply worded letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker, where she referenced the possibility that UT could face a charge of lack of institutional control in this latest investigation. That would put a postseason ban back on the table, which Skrmetti finds unjust.

TENNESSEE VS NCAA IN COURT NCAA scored first in NIL case. But don't mistake that for a final result.

“With respect to NIL, we’ve seen the president of the NCAA say very recently, ‘There are no rules’ (during an interview with NBC News on Nov. 18),” Skrmetti said.

“And yet, they turn around and are looking not just at UT, but at quite a few schools – looking at very serious sanctions. Meanwhile, there are other schools where there’s a lot of suspicion in public and a whole lot of smoke out there, and they’re apparently not under any scrutiny.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: NCAA investigation into Tennessee NIL 'payback' for no bowl ban, AG says