For Pruitt and staff, extra benefits went well beyond cash—they paid for hotel rooms, some of them at the Crown Plaza in Knoxville, airline tickets, dozens of meals and more. In one allegation, coaches delivered $500 in university apparel to prospects while under the cover of a parking garage. In another, the staff paid $225 in nail salon treatments for families. During one unofficial visit, coaches took prospects and family members on a fishing trip that included a meal from Knoxville’s famous Calhoun’s restaurant and coaches spending $175 on a meal for a prospect’s family at Dead End BBQ.
On at least two occasions, the staff bought McDonald’s for prospects and their families, though the bags included just food and not cash, as was erroneously reported by TV and radio host Dan Patrick. Staff members did, however, buy Chick-fil-A breakfasts for recruits.