The SEC has always been known as a football conference, but over the last decade, the conference has flipped the script and become one of, if not the most, premier basketball conferences in the country. Florida won the national title last year, Auburn made the Final Four, Tennessee advanced to the Elite Eight, and legacy programs like Kentucky and Arkansas reached the second weekend.
With the SEC now becoming the standard of what a league should look like in college basketball, the stakes have never been higher. The field of 68 did an anonymous poll of college coaches, and they ranked all the SEC jobs, with Tennessee coming in at No. 4 on the list, a well-deserved ranking.
🔥 SEC JOB RANKINGS 🔥
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 4, 2026
We anonymously polled coaches and asked them to rank every job in the league! 👀
RANKINGS HERE ⬇️https://t.co/Anm4hH640y pic.twitter.com/sb6GllR1Wk
Why this matters for Tennessee basketball
Tennessee ranking among the top of the conference is a big deal that fans and the program should not take lightly. For one, Rick Barnes is 71 and won't be coaching forever; this ranking shows that coaches respect Tennessee and that a high-priority candidate will be hired once Barnes is gone. Tennessee is viewed as a top destination in coaching circles, not just some bottom-feeder job, which is excellant.
Not to mention, Tennessee has great resources and support from the administration. The Vols just signed Nate Ament last offseason, the highest-ranked player in school history, and they brought in Ja'kobi Gillespie this offseason, one of the portal's top point guards. Tennessee has appeal, as its great fanbase will pack the Food City Center, and the program has developed players who have played in the NBA. That’s why Tennessee’s ranking feels earned, not inflated.
In a conference where respect is earned the hard way, Tennessee has it. Kentucky, Texas, and Arkansas are the only schools that rank ahead of the Vols. Kentucky is the clear-cut leader in the conference with its history and tradition, but Texas, being No. 2, is a bit puzzling. They have a lot of NIL money and support, but I'm not taking them over Tennessee, or Arkansas, or Florida, for that matter.
If Tennesse can put together a few more deep March runs, they could find themselves even higher on the next list.