It’s been a little more than 48 hours since news of the investigation at Tennessee first broke, and the University has gone on the offensive in fighting back against the governing body of college sports.

Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman skewered the “failing” NCAA and declared that her University has done nothing wrong in a letter sent to NCAA president Charlie Baker, and the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Wednesday claimed the NCAA’s NIL restrictions and attempts to force them are violations of antitrust laws.

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White joined the fray with a direct statement shared on Thursday afternoon:

“The NCAA generally does not comment on infractions cases because there is a rule against it; however, that has not stopped them in the past from leaking information to the media as they did this week about us. Their actions made this ill-conceived investigation public and forced us to defend ourselves. It is clear that the NCAA staff does not understand what is happening at the campus level all over the country in the NIL space. After reviewing thousands of Tennessee coach and personnel phone records, NCAA investigators didn’t find a single NIL violation, so they moved the goalpost to fit a predetermined outcome. They are stating that the nebulous, contradictory NIL guidelines (written by the NCAA not the membership) don’t matter and applying the old booster bylaws to collectives. If that’s the case, then 100% of the major programs in college athletics have significant violations. This is obviously silly and not productive, as is blaming the membership whenever they are challenged. We need to be spending our time and energy on solutions to better organize college athletics in the NIL era – something that the NCAA leadership failed to do back in 2021. Student-athletes, prospective student-athletes, coaches, and administrators across the country deserve better, and I refuse to allow the NCAA to irrationally use Tennessee as an example for their own agenda.”

White’s statement echoes the sentiment of Plowman’s letter dated Monday, the day before Sports Illustrated first reported that the NCAA was investigating Tennessee and characterized the rules violations as “major” – despite offering no details regarding the allegations.

Other outlets pointed to the recruitment of quarterback Nico Iamaleava as a focus of the probe with the New York Times reporting that one of the allegations was a Tennessee-based collective using a private plane to fly him to campus.

Tom Mars, long-time NCAA battler and attorney for Spyre Sports Group, which runs Tennessee’s collective, the Volunteer Club, released a statement about the deal Iamaleava signed with Spyre in early 2022, stating the deal “was fully consistent” with NCAA NIL rules, “had nothing to do” with Tennessee’s recruitment of the five-star quarterback and was not an inducement, which the NCAA has tried to rule is a violation as it retroactively attempts to police NIL activity.

After the lawsuit from Tennessee and Virginia was filed on Wednesday morning seeking a temporary restraining order by (and then preliminary and permanent injunctions) barring the NCAA from enforcing its rules prohibiting recruits and transfers from engaging in NIL-related discussions, the NCAA released a statement on Wednesday evening.

“While the NCAA generally does not comment on specific infractions cases, it is important to remember that NCAA member schools and conferences not only make the rules but routinely call for greater enforcement of those rules and holding violators accountable. In recent years, this has been especially true as it relates to establishing and enforcing a consistent set of national rules intended to manage the name, image and likeness environment.

“This legal action would exacerbate what our members themselves have frequently described as a ‘wild west’ atmosphere, further tilting competitive imbalance among schools in neighboring states, and diminishing protections for student-athletes from potential exploitation.

“The NCAA remains firmly committed to protecting and expanding student-athletes’ NIL rights and opportunities. However, our membership has steadfastly supported the prohibition on impermissible recruiting contacts, booster involvement in recruiting prospects and the use of NIL offers as recruiting inducements.”

White’s only previous comment on the matter was a tweet on Wednesday supporting the “strong leadership” from Tennessee attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti for filing the lawsuit against the NCAA.