The 1950s Team of the Decade

In 2007, Sports Illustrated named Tennessee the “Team of the Decade” for the 1950s. The Vols compiled a 72-31-4 record overall, 38-20-4 in the SEC, and boasted a consensus national title in 1951. There were also two SEC titles (1951 and 1956) and two Heisman...

Finding a way to see the game

By Tom Mattingly When you think about the loyalty of Tennessee football fans, you might consider how this loyalty manifests itself, often from faraway places. These are fans for whom a trip to Knoxville is a major undertaking, requiring a great deal of planning and...

There’s no ‘I’ in ‘Team’

By Tom Mattingly When the experts say football is a “team game,” they really mean it. It takes a “team” to win. That’s been true since the days of Pop Warner and Amos Alonzo Stagg. Tennessee coaches from the days of Bob Neyland on have preached and praised the concept...

A special ambience to the fan experience

  By Tom Mattingly The story came out of left field in late 2010 and early 2011. A man claimed to have poisoned two 130-year-old live oaks at “Toomer’s Corner” near the campus of Auburn University, to the point of coming clean on the “Paul Finebaum Show.” It was...