Tennessee Volunteers: History of the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry, more

The Tennessee Volunteers rivalry goes back centuries ago against the Alabama Crimson Tide. In honor of the Vols playing the Tide tonight in a top-10 basketball matchup, let’s take a deeper look at the true meaning behind the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry, and what makes it unlike any other.

When did the Tennessee Volunteers-Alabama rivalry begin?

The first football game took place back in 1901 when the two teams tied with a score of 6-6. For the most part, since 1928, the tradition has played out on the third Saturday in October. This day then became a tradition between Tennessee and Alabama, and the third Saturday in October was born.

The overall record between Tennessee and Alabama is 39-59 in favor of the Tide. After this past season, the Vols are currently on a one-game winning streak after losing the past 15 games in a row.

The longest win streak for Tennessee took place from the years of 1995-2001. The Vols went on a 7 game-winning streak and during this time, won their first and only National Championship.

What are things to know about the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry?

The Cigars:

Way back in the 1950s, A fella named Jim Goostree started the trend of lighting a cigar after they beat Tennessee. Goostree was the head athletic trainer at Alabama at the time, and he started this tradition by handing out cigars after a victory.

Both Tennessee and Alabama kept the cigar celebration going, but the tobacco products violated the NCAA rules so the two teams got in trouble after every victory. However, this didn’t stop the tradition from living on to this present day.

The Hatred:

These two programs despise each other, from the players to the fans, to the coaches, to the cities, there is bad blood. If you show up in Knoxville wearing red, I truly hope that you have thick skin, because you will be harassed like no other, and the same goes for wearing orange in Tuscaloosa.

ESPN’s analyst Rece Davis had this to say back in October last year, before the game in Knoxville:

"“You think you’ve heard loud? You haven’t heard loud until you hear what it’s going to be like when they run through the ‘T’ on Saturday. They think they’re back,” Davis said of Tennessee. “They are starving to be back because it’s not just beating the juggernaut. There’s a generation of fans who don’t understand the vitriol and the disdain and the hatred that Tennessee has for Alabama and, in many cases, vice versa.”"

The Legends:

For football, The third Saturday in October is a day where legends are made and winners feel like they can conquer the world. Long ago when the rivalry was just beginning, two coaches made a name for themselves, Robert Neyland, and Paul “Bear” Bryant. These were the two coaches during much of the years between Tennessee and Alabama. Ironically enough now both of their stadiums are named after these two coaches and their names live in infamy as the third Saturday in October tradition lives on.

The Court:

While most of the rivalry seems to take place on the football field, there is no shortage of bad blood between the two basketball programs. Alabama currently leads the series in basketball with a record of 82-70 favoring the Tide. Tennessee has yet to beat Alabama in their last 3 games and will look to change that later today.

Tennessee basketball hosts the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in a top 10 premier SEC showdown at Thompson Bowling Arena, tonight, at 7:00 pm.