University of Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee makes it official, announces Kiffin hiring (12/01/08)
He was exposed to the game of football at an early age. "What I remember is not what most of you guys are used to remembering when you were little. I remember a green chalkboard and the white chalk on the ground and just plays everywhere." He even said it was "neat" to sit in pregame meetings while other kids were skipping rocks across a pond or learning how to ride a bike...

Parker: Fulmer goes out on high note (12/01/08)
KNOXVILLE -- What he called a "three-week long funeral" came to a halt on Saturday night when Phillip Fulmer manned the sidelines for the final time for the Tennessee Volunteers. "It's been a really tough year, particularly a really tough month," he said...

Jones: Fulmer's departure proves pressure of college ranks (11/24/08)
NASHVILLE -- Vanderbilt lost 20-10 to the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday in the last appearance at Dudley Field for coach Phillip Fulmer. It was not exactly a dominating win, but it was still a fitting ending for the Winchester native. His teams have dominated the series with the Commodores by winning 15 of 16 games against their intra-state rival and are 8-0 in Nashville during his tenure as head coach...

Locker room emotions run high for Vols (11/10/08)
KNOXVILLE -- After losing their first game following head coach Phillip Fulmer's forced retirement, Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton and defensive end Wes Brown were visibly deflated Saturday. The team's desire to defend their ousted coach didn't translate into a win on the field, however, as visiting Wyoming upset the Vols 13-7 in front of a sparse homecoming crowd in Neyland Stadium...

Parker: Fulmer can't find answers to Vols' woes (10/27/08)
KNOXVILLE -- Breathing slowly and appearing perplexed talking softly above tape recorders and facing television cameras was coach Phillip Fulmer, fresh off watching his Tennessee Volunteers get hammered 29-9 by No. 2 Alabama on Saturday night. It's just been one of those seasons. Balls don't bounce their way. Referees' calls appear slanted against them. There simply are no answers as to why the landslide of woes continues...

Jones: Berry coming through for Vols (10/20/08)
KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee went into Saturday's game with Mississippi State trying to avert their worst league start since Phillip Fulmer took the reins 17 years ago despite returning a large percentage of starters from a team that was one fourth quarter turnover away from the SEC championship last season...

Parker: Bowden's exit may make Fulmer think (10/14/08)
Clemson sent a shockwave through the college football world by ousting Tommy Bowden as head coach after over nine seasons. Expectations were high throughout the summer as the Tigers were predicted to make a run through the ACC. The program took a step back when Alabama manhandled them 34-10 in the season opener in the Georgia Dome...

Parker: Vols' frustration level rising (10/13/08)
ATHENS, Ga. -- Starting the Southeastern Conference season with three straight losses wasn't exactly what Tennessee had in mind. No one predicted back in the preseason that the Volunteers would not be getting a single vote for the Top 25, carry a record of 2-4 and be looking up at in-state rival Vanderbilt six games into the schedule...

Parker: Crompton endures troubled times (09/29/08)
AUBURN, Ala. -- Coming out of high school, Jonathan Crompton was the second highest rated pro-style quarterback in the country. All the hype, tools and optimism followed him to Tennessee after being a Parade All-American and two-time Class 3A All-State selection at his high school in Waynesville, N.C...

Parker: Trouble at Rocky Top (09/22/08)
KNOXVILLE -- Somebody needs to tune up Rocky Top. There's a note or two off that's making the fight song sound a little sour. Point fingers wherever you want and toss out all the 'What ifs' but at the end of the day the Tennessee Volunteers are unranked, carrying a record of 1-2 and hearing boos in Neyland Stadium...

Parker: Florida week poses challenge (09/15/08)
KNOXVILLE -- "We can, we must and we will play better as we go along." Coach Phillip Fulmer's message after his Tennessee Vols dispatched UAB 35-3 at Neyland Stadium on Saturday rang clear. The Blazers stood on the schedule as a way for the Vols to rid themselves of the bitter taste left behind from losing in overtime to UCLA in the season opener and as a practice game prior to the Southeastern Conference over against rival Florida...

UCLA win exposes Vols' problems (09/02/08)
LOS ANGELES -- A national television audience got a first-hand look as Tennessee sought a few answers in its season opener against UCLA Monday night at the Rose Bowl. The Volunteers discovered their highly touted secondary was as good as advertised, except for the fact they surrendered a pair of long touchdown drives in the fourth quarter...

Berry in the mix for Vols' offense (08/04/08)
KNOXVILLE -- After coming in as one of the more heralded recruits in Tennessee football history, Eric Berry didn't disappoint. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder spent time time at both cornerback and safety before earning freshman All-America honors from several publications and second team All-SEC by both the writers and coaches...

Parker: Candace's legacy lengthens (06/24/08)
The slam dunks just keep on coming for Candace Parker. The former Tennessee Lady Vol added yet another piece of hardware to her trophy case on Monday morning, taking home the Honda-Broderick Cup for being the nation's top female athlete. Parker was honored only hours after becoming the second WNBA player ever to throw down a dunk in a game as she helped her Los Angeles Sparks take down the Indiana Fever over on the west coast...

Parker: Vols enjoy taste of the big time (02/24/08)
MEMPHIS -- Looking at the big screen on the scoreboard at the FedEx Forum and around the crowd of 18,389 in attendance, it was apparent that anybody who is anybody in the state of Tennessee wanted to be there. From the face-lifted Priscilla Presley to former Memphis Tiger star Penny Hardaway to NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, nobody wanted to miss this one. ...

Parker: Fulmer signees may work out (02/07/08)
Signing Day came and went on Wednesday. Stay-at-home high school football scouts all across the country are gathering around the water cooler to either brag about the prospects their school snagged or preaching about how their tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator has one true job to do and he failed...

Parker: Vols get their act together (01/02/08)
TAMPA, Fla. -- Was Huckleberry Finn added to the coaching staff just prior to kickoff? Between suspensions and injuries, Tennessee looked like the character from Mark Twain's novel on a raft floating aimlessly down the mighty Mississippi with some twigs and mud sewn and thrown together...

UT defense holds together at critical time (01/02/08)
TAMPA, Fla. -- John Chavis was proud and prepared to boast. When the Tennessee offense broke on Tuesday afternoon, the defensive coordinator's much-maligned unit was there to pick up the pieces. His defense bent, but refused to break. And as a result, the 16th-ranked Volunteers escaped the Outback Bowl with a 21-17 win over Wisconsin at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium...

Super sophs come full circle to Rocky Top (12/26/07)
The holiday season is a time when most college students pack up after finals and head home to be with friends and family following a long fall semester. For a pair of Tennessee Volunteers, that drive is not nearly as lengthy as it used to be. Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince decided to venture off following stellar prep careers in the Volunteer State...

Parker: Fate doesn't shine on Vols' ring hopes (12/03/07)
ATLANTA, Ga. -- In a college football season where the insane became a reality and the impossible turned likely, it only seemed fitting that a Tennessee team that many deemed fortunate just to be in the Southeastern Conference championship would persevere over an LSU squad that spent several weeks ranked as the No. 1 team in the country...

Vols drop title game; Ainge says 'It's on me' (12/03/07)
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Erik Ainge was set up perfectly to etch his name into the Tennessee record book as the first Volunteer quarterback to win a Southeastern Conference championship since Tee Martin in 1998. Instead, the senior unwittingly joined a long list of disappointments...

Parker: Same setting, different destination (11/26/07)
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- There he stood behind the same particle board table while resting in a plastic, hard-back chair at the front of a crowded interview room in the bowels of Commonwealth Stadium. Flashback two years ago. The Tennessee football program was thrown a knee-buckling curveball to finish a bowl-less season 5-6 after competing in Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference title in 2004...

Clutch plays carry Vols to Atlanta (11/26/07)
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer frequently tells his teams that people remember what they do in November. It is a safe bet no one will forget the classic the Volunteers and Kentucky staged in their season finale Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium...

Parker: Vols execute with precision (11/12/07)
KNOXVILLE -- For any quality coach in any sport, the same philosophies appear to be implemented when facing a game-changing performer. Coach Phillip Fulmer and his staff knew coming in that the more they could keep the ball out of the hands of Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden, the greater their chances were of winning on Saturday...

Parker: Foster's ball security needs fixin' (10/31/07)
Just when you think it's safe to drive back over to Knoxville to watch some good, ole-fashioned Tennessee football, they go and break your heart again, only to lift up your spirits and return to the pedestal with some of the best in the country. The 2007 season for the Volunteers has been as up and down as the rest of the college football world. ...

Lincoln boots Vols to OT win (10/29/07)
KNOXVILLE -- The surreal wasn't reserved for Halloween this year. Spectators of Tennessee's thrilling 27-24 overtime triumph over South Carolina at Neyland Stadium were treated to a mixed bag of tricks and treats on Saturday night. It began when the Volunteers (5-3, 3-2 SEC) blew a 21-point lead at halftime, watched South Carolina grab a 24-21 advantage with 1:11 left in regulation, and faced the prospect of marching downfield after struggling to move the ball at all in the second half...

Parker: Vols starting to clock in (10/08/07)
KNOXVILLE -- The words and notes of "Rocky Top" are starting to sound a little clearer. After dropping two of their first three games in embarrassing fashion, the Tennessee faithful were starting to slur while attempting to bellow out lyrics to their fight song...

Meyer finds winning formula vs. Vols (09/17/07)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The scene was all too familiar for Tennessee players, coaches and fans. A creative Florida coach rallying behind a brash quarterback and outstanding athletes to embarrass the Volunteers on national television. And this time it was not Steve Spurrier or one of his Fun-N-Gun quarterbacks inflicting the damage...

Vols seek further improvement in '07 (09/06/07)
For many schools, going 9-4 overall and 5-3 in the conference is considered a successful season. Not particularly in Knoxville, although coming off a 5-6 season, it was a vast improvement. Tennessee showed some promise as they took national champion Florida and Sugar Bowl champion LSU down to the wire before being defeated. The season ended on a sour note as a costly fumble contributed to Penn State downing the Volunteers 20-10 in the Outback Bowl...

Loss in opener magnifies Vols' weaknesses (09/06/07)
Tennessee opened up their season with an embarrassing 45-31 loss at the hands of a California team they blistered the year before in Knoxville. But, all is not lost in Knoxville. The game had zero bearing on Southeastern Conference play and national respect...

Cal gets back at UT 45-31 (09/04/07)
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Tennessee took great pride in introducing California to Southeastern Conference football last season. The Golden Bears from the Pac-10 returned the courtesy on Saturday night. In fact, the 45-31 shellacking they laid on the Volunteers (0-1) may have even been more impressive than Tennessee's season-opening win in Knoxville a year ago...

Berry ready to leave mark on Knoxville (08/06/07)
KNOXVILLE -- Death, taxes and recruiting rankings. One of these things is not like the others. College football recruiting has taken on a life of its own in recent years with more and more Internet services telling diehards who's hot and who's not. Even the "can't miss kids" sometimes fail to take academics or preseason workouts seriously. Before you know it, some stud a university has been writing letters to since he was in eighth grade is being shipped off to military school or some JUCO...

UT, Fulmer spread wealth to assistants (07/13/07)
Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton announced Thursday that assistant football coaches have received raises and contract extensions effective July 1. The salary increases were based on output and performances by the coaches and were awarded by head coach Phillip Fulmer...

UT's Parker tabbed nation's best (04/10/07)
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- University of Tennessee basketball star Candace Parker has been named the John R. Wooden Player of the Year announced the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Saturday. She becomes the youngest female to earn the prestigious honor. "I want to thank the John R. Wooden committee, my teammates, coaches, family and opponents," said Parker. "This is such an honor. I am so blessed to be a part of women's basketball and its growth."...

Vols hold pro day for scouts (03/22/07)
Tennessee staged its annual pro timing day Wednesday at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center, allowing National Football League scouts the opportunity to see first-hand the skills of recent UT performers. Eighteen former Volunteers vying for spots in the April 28-29 NFL Draft displayed their wares, participating in seven events under the watchful eyes of representatives from nearly every NFL team...

Former Eaglette Fuller living the dream (03/07/07)
In another week or so the AAU basketball season begins for high school players all across the country. Camps, tournaments and practices take on a whole new meaning. In place of cheerleaders and pep bands will stand college recruiters and sponsors. If anybody wants to figure out how important it is to teenagers to be able to continue their athletic careers on the next level, just check out the level and style of play...

Parker receives accolades (02/13/07)
Tennessee sophomore Candace Parker has been selected as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week the conference office announced Monday. The sophomore earned the award for the fourth time this season and the fifth time in her career. In three games last week, Parker averaged 26.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. ...

Parker continues to roll in honors (01/09/07)
The Southeastern Conference office announced Monday that Tennessee basketball star Candace Parker earned co-player of the week honors for her performances against Alabama and fifth-ranked Connecticut. She shares the accolade with Mississippi's Armintie Price...

Vols hand over win to Penn State (01/02/07)
TAMPA, Fla. -- It did not appear that Tennessee asked for prosperity for the new year. Penn State was certainly glad the Volunteers were giving it away, though, as the 10 points they scored off Tennessee turnovers turned out to be the difference in the Nittany Lions' 20-10 victory in Monday's Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium...

Vols aren't downplaying Lion lineman's power (12/30/06)
TAMPA, Fla. -- Legendary coach Joe Paterno has never been one to shower his players with excessive praises. So from that perspective, it came as no surprise when he toned down his compliments toward Nittany Lion senior linebacker Paul Posluszny -- a two-time All-American and winner of the Bednarik Award as the nation's best defensive player -- as Penn State (8-4) prepares to battle 17th-ranked Tennessee (9-3) in the Outback Bowl here on Monday morning...

Smith won't suit up for finale with Vols (12/30/06)
TAMPA, Fla. -- The University of Tennessee announced Saturday that senior wide receiver Bret Smith will not participate in the Vols' Jan. 1 matchup versus Penn State University. "Our standard practice is always to review processes and outcomes," UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said. ...

Davis comes back to view Vol practice (12/29/06)
TAMPA, Fla. -- A host of former Volunteers were on hand Thursday as the Tennessee football team conducted its third day of local Outback Bowl preparations at the University of South Florida. The Vols worked out in shorts and shoulder pads for more than two hours under clear skies and temperatures hovering in the 70s...

UT seeks continued success vs. Big Ten (12/28/06)
TAMPA, Fla. -- Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer said Wednesday he's not a believer in any sort of stereotype when it comes to Southeastern Conference football versus the Big Ten Conference. The Vols meet Penn State here Monday in the 21st Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium...

Mayo, Coker back in Vol mix (12/27/06)
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tennessee football team officially began its local preparations for the Outback Bowl on Tuesday, taking to the practice field at the University of South Florida under cool and overcast conditions. UT players and staff convened here Monday evening and shared a Christmas dinner together...

Bradshaw's bucket boosts Vols (12/19/06)
NASHVILLE -- Dane Bradshaw had more superlatives than key statistics following Tennessee's game with Oklahoma State on Monday night. The one stat Bradshaw had that mattered most, however, was the two points he scored with 1.9 seconds left to give the Volunteers a 79-77 triumph over the 15th-ranked Cowboys before 8,118 partisan fans at the Gaylord Entertainment Center...

Vols survive Kentucky 17-12 (11/26/06)
KNOXVILLE - The last time Tennessee walked off the gridiron with a victory over Kentucky, the Volunteers could not wait to put the season behind them. After defeating the Wildcats 17-12 Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, these Vols (9-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) were more willing to reflect on how far they've come from their disastrous 2005 season...

Vol seniors bid farewell, participate in 'Last Tackle' (11/24/06)
Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer said the first of what will be several goodbyes to the 2006 senior class, thanking them for contributions to the UT football program with the honorary "Last Tackle" Thursday at Haslam Field. The Vols head coach gathered his seniors at one end of a double line of teammates and offers a few kind words about each individual. The players then took turns plowing into a tackling dummy one last time, to the cheers and salutes of their teammates...

Vols look to raise intensity level for UK (11/23/06)
For the first time in 29 years, Kentucky enters the football field against Tennessee riding a four-game winning streak. That means plenty of confidence for the Wildcats and plenty of motivation as they try to improve their bowl options and limit those of the Vols...

UT's Wilhoit earns SEC praise (11/22/06)
Tennessee's James Wilhoit had a career day during his final visit to Vanderbilt Stadium and for his efforts was named Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. A native of the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville, Wilhoit took over the SEC's active scoring lead Saturday after tallying 15 points in the Vols' 39-10 win. The senior was perfect on four field goal attempts in the game (43, 27, 22 and 41 yards) and added three PATs...

Parker tabbed Player of the Week (11/21/06)
Tennessee sophomore basketball standout Candace Parker was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for her recent performances in wins over No. 20/21 UCLA (83-60) and No. 11 Arizona State (83-74). Last season, Parker received the league's Freshman of the Week honor on four occasions, and the Player of the Week award once during her rookie campaign...