Tennessee football: Defining Vols history by 10 Disney animation eras
Disney: Post-Renaissance (2000-2009)
Tennessee: Later Bill Battle through early Johnny Majors (1975-1984)
While the Disney Renaissance saved the company, it fell apart in the 2000s. The same is true for Tennessee football. The Doug Dickey era introduced the Vols to a new audience, but it fell apart in the mid-1970s.
Both had something in common, though. Their peak era had established a new generation of interests from fans that they could overcome bad times. But this was still bad times for both of them in the grand scheme of things.
Disney was still releasing animated films at the time, but none of them were good. It started with “Fantasia 2000.” That’s a perfect parallel to the 1977 Vols. “Fantasia 2000” was awful, as was the 1977 UT team, its first year under Johnny Majors. What to both have in common? They’re blasts from the past, Majors on one hand, Fantasia on the other.
But things for UT really started in the battle years with back to back five-loss seasons after Condredge Holloway left. In fact, from 1975 to 1980, the Vols never lost fewer than five games. They got better from 1981 to 1984, losing only five games once, but they lost four games two other times. So it was a down period.
Disney Animation cranked out flops like “The Emperor’s New Groove,” “Atlantis: The Lost Empire,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Treasure Planet,” “Brother Bear,” “Home on the Range,” “Bolt” and “Chicken Little.” Those represented the awful UT seasons.
However, UT and Disney were also similar in their way of doing well in other areas. Disney produced great live-action films during this time like “Remember the Titans” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and they also were balling with Pixar with movies like “Finding Nemo.”
The Vols, meanwhile, had the Ernie and Bernie Show under Ray Mears and then enjoyed the Don DeVoe era, highlight by Dale Ellis, in men’s basketball, while women’s basketball continued to grow. So it was a great time for them as well outside of football.