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Barack Obama is One of the Worst Presidents Ever So Far…For Tennessee Vols Athletics

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 12, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; President Barack Obama after delivering the State of the Union address from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Mandatory Credit: Andrew P. Scott-USA TODAY Network
Jan 12, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; President Barack Obama after delivering the State of the Union address from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Mandatory Credit: Andrew P. Scott-USA TODAY Network /
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Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers mascot carries the flag through the fans during Vol Walk prior to the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers mascot carries the flag through the fans during Vol Walk prior to the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Richard Nixon, 1969-1974

With no women’s basketball to help bolster his resume, Richard Nixon’s tenure included incredible success for Tennessee athletics. In fact, it was one of the greatest periods of football that you could find after the Neyland years and before the Fulmer years, so we will start there.

The program was thriving under Doug Dickey, and a future Vol legend had joined the 1969 team, Phillip Fulmer. In 1969, they went 9-2 and won the SEC Championship. In 1970, Bill Battle came along, but Dickey had built the program up so much that it would take a while to tank under Battle.

Indeed, Battle’s first team went 11-1 and had a No. 4 finish, and in 1971 the Vols went 10-2 with a No. 9 ranked finish. The Vols also finished in the Top 10 with another 10-2 record in 1972 before finishing in the Top 25 with an 8-4 record in 1973. That’s five straight Top 25 finishes under Nixon. And he was gone by 1974, just before Battle began to take the program off a cliff. So he can’t be blamed for that.

Moving onto men’s basketball, the program was thriving in the Ray Mears era and had one NCAA Tournament appearance and an SEC Regular Season championship. For Tennessee Basketball, that’s about as much as you can ask for.

Adding to the success, Nixon oversaw two national titles, in Men’s Outdoor Trakc & Field and Men’s Cross Country. So that’s a huge boost to his resume.

But the guy he succeeded has even more to brag about.

Next: #5: LBJ

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