Tennessee Vols morning report: Jeremy Pruitt fired, Phillip Fulmer retires
It was a dark day in the history of the Tennessee Vols athletics program. Unfortunately for people familiar with the program, it wasn’t the first dark day over the past decade-plus. The curse against the football program, whatever it is, continues.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with all the news surrounding the firing of three coaches and six off-field staff members involved with the football program along with a key retirement in the administration. All of these things are connected and were addressed in a press conference that we’ll cover.
Beyond those transitions, we do have other sports generating news. Men’s basketball had a Monday press conference ahead of this week’s games, and there is a tennis matchup and a baseball ranking story to cover. Let’s start with all the football news, though.
Jeremy Pruitt, various staff fired; Phillip Fulmer retires – Austin Price, VolQuest
Amidst an NCAA investigation, Tennessee Vols football coach Jeremy Pruitt, assistants Brien Niedermeyer and Shelton Felton, and seven off-field staff members were fired for cause. Phillip Fulmer retired. Kevin Steele is now interim head coach. Fulmer, UT Chancellor Donde Plowman and system president Randy Boyd addressed the firings Monday. Here’s a bit of what Plowman said.
"“What is so disturbing, as demonstrated by the scope of these actions, is the number of violations and people involved and their efforts to conceal their activities from our compliance staff and from the Athletic department’s leaders. Despite a strong compliance culture in our athletic department, we must look for ways to further strengthen our processes. We deeply regret the impact this may have on our many student-athletes, particularly the vast majority of our football players who have had no involvement in this matter at all.”"
Rick Barnes holds weekly Monday presser – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
This week, the Tennessee Vols basketball team jumped four spots to No. 6 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, and they are No. 4 in the NCAA NET Rankings. They will visit the Florida Gators at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday and host the Missouri Tigers at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday. Rick Barnes addressed the week in his Monday press conference. Here’s a bit of what he said about Florida
"“They are going to spread you out. They are going to be at a point of contact on that ball screen. I think he puts his players in positions where they need to be. Defensively he is going to mix it up. He is going to pressure you in the back court a couple different ways. He’s going to show you some zone. He’s a multiple defensive coach. I think he’ll do it and see how his players can adjust to it. I think they are an aggressive team.”"
Baseball ranked No. 19 in Preseason Top 25 – D1Baseball.com
Coming off a 15-2 season and a No. 20 ranking in the Coaches Poll just before everything shut down prematurely, the Tennessee Vols baseball team appears as if it will enter the 2021 season in the top 20 as well. UT came in at No. 19 in the D1Baseball Preseason Top 25. The Florida Gators came in at No. 1.
"The SEC lands five teams inside the top 10 of the rankings, as No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Mississippi State and No. 8 Arkansas follow the Gators and Commodores. The SEC also leads all conferences with nine of its 14 teams (64 percent) in the Top 25."
Men’s tennis to face ETSU – UTSports
After wins over the Oklahoma Sooners and Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles this past Saturday, the No. 13 ranked Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team is back in action on Tuesday. They will face the ETSU Bucs in place of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, a match that was canceled.
"Tuesday’s matchup will be the 29th meeting between the Vols and Buccaneers in a series dating to 1937. Tennessee owns a 25-3 series edge, with wins in each of the programs last 25 meetings. The last time the teams met was in 2014, a contest that finished 5-2 in favor of UT."