Tennessee athletic director says UT and the NCAA have worked together “every step of the way” in the ongoing investigation into the program’s misconduct.

Reporter Adam Sparks of The Tennesseean shared what White told the Rotary Club of Knoxville on Tuesday.

“We’re not going to investigate this thing and then hand it over to the NCAA, where they have to go investigate it again,” White told the club. “They have been involved in every single interview, every step of the way.”

Per Sparks, White indicated that involving the NCAA in the early stage may shorten the timeline of the investigation.

“… It may feel like it’s going slow because it’s been six, seven months since we started,” White said. “But look at some other cases around the country, and they last three or four years.”

UT hopes to avoid a multi-year investigation.

“We want to prevent (an investigation of years) from happening,” White told the club, per Sparks. “We want to get through it and show that we are going to operate from a place of high integrity. We want to put this thing behind us, and I’m confident that’s what we’re going to do.”

White, though, doesn’t know exactly when the investigation will wrap up.

“But I can’t really put a time frame on it. It would be impossible.”

Sparks also shared that Tennessee’s legal fees are already in the high six-figures:

November to June, the university was billed for $756,453 in legal fees by Bond, Schoeneck and King, a law firm from Overland Park, Kansas…

Billable hours remain undefeated.