As promised, here's my account of what happened at tonight's alumni reception for Chancellor Beverly Davenport in midtown Manhattan. About 70 people gathered for a cocktail party in a fellow alum's Park Avenue townhouse to chat with Davenport about all things UT. Interestingly, there were name tags there for Johnny Majors, Doug Dickey, Bud Ford and - here's a blast from the past - Chip Kell - but none of them showed. An alumni office minion said they confirmed they were coming, but likely got sidetracked to one of Peyton's soirées. As most of you know, Peyton is being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame tomorrow night at the Hilton Midtown (not the longtime location at the Waldorf, which is being renovated). Tonight, there were lots of HOF parties. Would love to have seen Majors and Dickey discussing their deep affection for each other.
I got there early, and as the crowd wandered by to chat up Davenport, I came over, asked her if she was having fun yet (she got a kick out of that) and we spoke for about five minutes. Much of it was about academic stuff this board wouldn't care about, but finally I told her a lot of people appreciated her taking on the old guard, and lots of donors/alums were standing by to help if they could. She seemed to genuinely appreciate that and said it was quite a struggle. I also told her most athletics supporters were very happy she replaced Currie with Fulmer. She replied she was expecting big things from Fulmer in getting things back on track. I couldn't resist in parting to say "and about Kevin Steele" while shaking my head and making the hand slash across the throat gesture (classy I know). She smiled and turned to chat up the next person who had walked up.
About halfway through the two-hour event, Davenport made remarks to the entire gathering and answered questions. She referred several times to "a week we all want to forget" but said we'll bounce back. She said she had lots of confidence in Fulmer and expected to have a new coach hired soon, like within the week. When recounting her accomplishments so far as chancellor, she got huge laughter when she said "I hired an athletic director eight months ago and - pause - I hired another athletic director last week." For someone in the job less than a year, her knowledge of UT academics was impressive, and I think she'll be a good advocate for the university. She gives off a vibe more like the cool chick drinking a cold one on the bar stool next to yours than a buttoned-up academic working the room at a NY cocktail party. I liked her a lot, and I think a lot of my earlier doubts were misplaced.
A couple of notes for Lady Vols fans; Joan Cronan was there, and we chatted for quite a while. She said efforts to get the woman's college basketball national championship trophy named after Pat (something I'd really like to see happen) were still ongoing. She also said the basketball series with UConn likely would be resumed "soon."
That's it from New York. One final note: Kevin Steele still is 1-31 against conference opponents as a head coach.
I got there early, and as the crowd wandered by to chat up Davenport, I came over, asked her if she was having fun yet (she got a kick out of that) and we spoke for about five minutes. Much of it was about academic stuff this board wouldn't care about, but finally I told her a lot of people appreciated her taking on the old guard, and lots of donors/alums were standing by to help if they could. She seemed to genuinely appreciate that and said it was quite a struggle. I also told her most athletics supporters were very happy she replaced Currie with Fulmer. She replied she was expecting big things from Fulmer in getting things back on track. I couldn't resist in parting to say "and about Kevin Steele" while shaking my head and making the hand slash across the throat gesture (classy I know). She smiled and turned to chat up the next person who had walked up.
About halfway through the two-hour event, Davenport made remarks to the entire gathering and answered questions. She referred several times to "a week we all want to forget" but said we'll bounce back. She said she had lots of confidence in Fulmer and expected to have a new coach hired soon, like within the week. When recounting her accomplishments so far as chancellor, she got huge laughter when she said "I hired an athletic director eight months ago and - pause - I hired another athletic director last week." For someone in the job less than a year, her knowledge of UT academics was impressive, and I think she'll be a good advocate for the university. She gives off a vibe more like the cool chick drinking a cold one on the bar stool next to yours than a buttoned-up academic working the room at a NY cocktail party. I liked her a lot, and I think a lot of my earlier doubts were misplaced.
A couple of notes for Lady Vols fans; Joan Cronan was there, and we chatted for quite a while. She said efforts to get the woman's college basketball national championship trophy named after Pat (something I'd really like to see happen) were still ongoing. She also said the basketball series with UConn likely would be resumed "soon."
That's it from New York. One final note: Kevin Steele still is 1-31 against conference opponents as a head coach.
