Another example of this is Tennessee, which seems to have calmed considerably. I’m going to drastically oversimplify this because a true and thorough accounting of the misalignment this century at Tennessee would fill a book, but for a long time the Volunteers suffered due to an internal squabble between a pro-Phillip Fulmer faction and an anti-Phillip Fulmer faction. This rift dates back at least to Fulmer’s firing as football coach in 2008, and it wasn’t sealed until Fulmer was forced out as athletic director early last year.
This fight influenced coaching hiring, firing and the day-to-day operation of the athletic department. The circus that was the late-2017 coaching search was probably the most public exhibition of the rift, and that ended with Fulmer returning — Count of Monte Cristo-style — as the AD. When Fulmer’s hand-picked coach (Jeremy Pruitt) flamed out and left the program staring at an NCAA investigation, everyone at Tennessee agreed something different would be better for all parties. So the administration brought in an outsider (former UCF AD Danny White) who was an experienced and successful athletic department administrator with no history with either side of the squabble. It probably has helped Tennessee considerably that White could come in with fresh eyes and a strong enough track record to make people listen. Is Tennessee aligned now? We probably won’t know until the current administration has a little more time to work through the NCAA issues, but the situation certainly seems to have stabilized over the past year.
This fight influenced coaching hiring, firing and the day-to-day operation of the athletic department. The circus that was the late-2017 coaching search was probably the most public exhibition of the rift, and that ended with Fulmer returning — Count of Monte Cristo-style — as the AD. When Fulmer’s hand-picked coach (Jeremy Pruitt) flamed out and left the program staring at an NCAA investigation, everyone at Tennessee agreed something different would be better for all parties. So the administration brought in an outsider (former UCF AD Danny White) who was an experienced and successful athletic department administrator with no history with either side of the squabble. It probably has helped Tennessee considerably that White could come in with fresh eyes and a strong enough track record to make people listen. Is Tennessee aligned now? We probably won’t know until the current administration has a little more time to work through the NCAA issues, but the situation certainly seems to have stabilized over the past year.
