Top 10 Moments Of Butch Jones’ First Year With Vols
By Zach Ragan
Oct 14, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers athletic director Dave Hart and head coach Butch Jones during the announcement that the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies will play a football game on Sep. 10, 2016 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
8. Grand Marshal At Bristol/Battle At Bristol Announcement
These two go hand in hand, even though they were seven months apart and completely unrelated.
On March 17, just a few months after being named head coach of the Vols, Butch Jones was the grand marshal for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
It was a great move by Jones, getting some national publicity as recruiting battles for the 2014 recruiting class started to heat up.
Mar 17, 2013; Bristol, TN, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Danica Patrick (left) autographs a football for Tennessee Volunteers head football coach Butch Jones before the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Jones was photographed with popular NASCAR driver Danica Patrick (who has some connections of her own to Tennessee) and brought his staff along with him to the race.
Seven months later it was announced that Tennessee and Virginia Tech would take part in the first ever football game at Bristol, dubbed as the “Battle At Bristol”.
The game will be played in 2016 and is yet another amazing opportunity for exposure for this Tennessee football team.