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UT Martin vs. Tennessee




Place: Knoxville, Date: Sept. 4, 2010, Time: 6PM ET, Network: PPV

Tennessee Athletics 2009-2010 year in review

	[Photo by Harry How/Getty Images]

Titans Volunteer Tennessee Justice on Lane Kiffin and USC

  In case you’re in the majority of NFL fans, you might not have heard that Lane Kiffin pissed off the majority of the football fans in the state of Tennessee when he quit his position as head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers football team. The young head coach was criticized for a lack of professionalism and integrity when he quickly bolted for the University of Southern California when the same position came available to helm the Trojans.

It seems that he might be looking to piss off the rest of the state of Tennessee, and this time the miffed audience is at the professional level. Lane Kiffin apparently wanted Kennedy Pola to be his offensive coordinator at USC, so he reached out and successfully offered the position to him. The only problem is that Kennedy Pola was (is?) still under contract as the running backs coach for the Tennessee Titans, and in keeping with his questionable “professionalism,” Lane Kiffin didn’t notify anyone in the Tennessee Titans organization.
FULL STORY >>

	[Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images]

Lane Kiffin: The Most Dangerous Man in Sports

  Raider fans know it. The University of Tennessee fans know it. The University of Southern California and their fans are quickly learning it. On Monday, The NFL’s Tennessee Titans filed a lawsuit against the University of Southern Cal and head coach Lane Kiffin for "maliciously" interfering with the contract of running backs coach Kennedy Pola.

The lawsuit claims Pola breached his contract with the Titans after being induced by Kiffin. Pola, who was hired by USC over the weekend as the school's new offensive coordinator, was hired by the Titans in January. According to the lawsuit, "USC and Kiffin maliciously intended to—and did—induce Pola to breach his contract with the Titans, and alleges that "USC and Kiffin engaged in improper means in their procedure of the breach and were not legally justified in their actions."
FULL STORY >>

	[Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images]

The Recent UGA Arrests Highlight a Bigger Problem in College Football

  On Saturday morning, two more Georgia Bulldog players landed in hot water because of alcohol. Georgia wide receiver Tavarres King was charged with underage possession and will receive a mandatory one game suspension. His teammate, Dontavius Jackson—a spring game standout at running back—was charged with a DUI, underage possession, leaving the scene of an accident, and several other traffic violations. He is suspended for a minimum of six games.

Both players are suspended indefinitely from team activities. The natural response to this most recent development is, what is with the Georgia Bulldogs football team this offseason? No one can argue that it's a fair question. After all, did King and Jackson not learn anything from the dismissal of Zach Mettenberger and Trent Dittmer, both of whom were kicked off the team as a result of using poor judgment whilst under the influence of alcohol? I mean, it’s not rocket science, right? Even the disgraced former AD, Damon Evans, understood the concept—You Drink, you Lose.
FULL STORY >>

Dooley's challenge

  Da' Rick Rogers, a 5-star wide receiver you signed last February, has been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in connection with a 1:50 a.m. brawl at a campus-area bar. The news gets worse: First-team safety Darren Myles reportedly fled the scene, resisted arrest and elbowed the face of a police officer who was attempting to handcuff him. This is Myles' second mishap on your watch; he previously was arrested in April on charges of public intoxication, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Incredibly, the news gets still worse:

Of the six potential suspects being detained by police, five are members of your program. Just when you think the news can get no worse, it does: Two of the bar's patrons - one an off-duty policeman - were injured seriously enough to be sent to UT Medical Center for treatment. The policeman was found unconscious, lying in the street with a head wound.
FULL STORY >>

Dooley 'Disappointed'

  Head Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley addressed the local media in regards to his team’s most recent run-in with local police in the aftermath of a bar brawl. Dooley had two words to describe his feelings on the incident - disappointed and embarrassed. “I am disappointed and embarrassed in many ways in the lapses of judgment by several members of our football team last night,” said Dooley. Dooley maintained that playing football for the University of Tennessee carries responsibilities.

“It’s a privilege not a right to be a member of this football team, to be a member of the University of Tennessee football team," Dooley said. Dooley said that no matter what the legal outcome of Friday morning’s bar brawl may be his standards are much higher than that of the written law.
FULL STORY >>

	[Photo by Getty Images]

College Football's Cold War: Southern California vs. Tennessee

  Traditional rivals hate each other in college football, we know that. The enmity is borne over decades of discord, the bitter losses have stung for what seems like eons, the sweet victories still linger as an aftertaste for almost as long. Every year rivals gird themselves for a new battle, but at no time does either side claim that a rivalry doesn't exist. Now a new fissure has boiled up in college football. Only neither team will acknowledge the hate and each team claims to be publicly unaware of the actions of the other. Yep, college football has its own version of the cold war. The USC Trojans and Tennessee Volunteers, two nicknames rooted in war, commendations from conflagrations, can't stand one another and won't acknowledge that fact.

College football's answer to Helen of Troy? Lane Kiffin. The Trojans spirited away Kiffin, his father Monte and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron, in the depths of last season's recruiting season. Immediately Lane of Troy went to work on Tennessee's proposed roster, snagging away several erstwhile Tennessee football commitments like five-star wide receiver Markeith Ambles and four-star linebacker Glen Stanley. All the while, Kiffin flashed his open palms in the direction of the Volunteer state, disclaiming all responsibility for dirty recruiting. Across the length of the Volunteer state, tempers flared. Leaving was one thing, but leaving and attempting to take the recruiting lifeblood of the program with him?
FULL STORY >>

	[Photo by Scout.com]

Carson excited about being a Volunteer

 According to one Alabama prospect his mind has been made up for a while. Oxford, Ala., defensive tackle Allan Carson made his pledge known Tuesday night when he announced his intentions to two Tennessee assistant coaches. “I called Lance Thompson and Chuck Smith,” Carson said. “I didn’t get to tell Coach (Derek)Dooley about my commitment; he is out of town right now. Coach Thompson and Coach Smith were excited.” “I had my mind made up for Tennessee for a while,” Carson added. “I made the final decision tonight.” Tennessee was the first to offer the 6-foot-1, 308-pound Scout.com two-star athlete.

“They were the first to offer me, now I have eight offers,” Carson told InsideTennessee.com. “They always made me feel very welcomed on their campus.” Carson is excited to get the decision out of the way so he can focus on his senior season. “I love the UT coaching staff a lot,” Carson said. “Now I can focus on my senior season.” Carson has made three unofficial visits to Rocky Top in the past year.
FULL STORY >>

	Jackson, a junior, forced a fumble that led to a touchdown in his first game as a Trojan at Virginia in 2008 and played in nine games as freshman. [Photo by AP]

USC Malik Jackson transferring to Tennessee

  USC defensive end Malik Jackson said Monday he will transfer to Tennessee, becoming the second Trojan to take advantage of NCAA-instituted bylaws that allow USC juniors and seniors to transfer without sitting out a year. The news was first reported by ESPN The Magazine's Bruce Feldman. Jackson, a junior, forced a fumble that led to a touchdown in his first game as a Trojan at Virginia in 2008 and played in nine games as freshman. He recorded 3.5 sacks as a sophomore in 2009 but was listed as a backup to fellow junior Armond Armstead on USC's end-of-spring depth chart this April.

Late Monday night, Jackson told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne that the decision to leave came over time and was not a knee-jerk reaction to the NCAA's slapping down of a two-year postseason ban on the Trojans. "I never thought about transferring when the sanctions first came out," Jackson said. "But the more I thought about it and talked to schools, the more I realized that I wanted to go and pursue other opportunities. "I just felt like I needed to be someplace else."
FULL STORY >>

	Tennessee offensive line coach Harry Hiestand talks to the team during a spring practice. Hiestand came to Tennessee after five seasons with the Chicago Bears. [Photo by Elizabeth Oliver/UTSports.com]

Harry Hiestand is fatherly on and off the field

  Harry Hiestand found himself in a unique position this past off-season. He actually had a second chance to spend more time with his children - a rarity for a football coach. Hiestand's first two children, two sons who are in college, saw first-hand the demands placed on their father in professional football. Hiestand didn't want his two youngest, a 9-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter, to experience the same. "I have a first-grader, which is insane, huh?" the 51-year-old said.

Even more insane were the constraints of the NFL, which was business first and family when rarely possible. It really didn't need to be said, but it was well known: An NFL training facility is not the place for wives and kids. "The environment is just not like that," Hiestand said. That's not the case at the University of Tennessee, where Hiestand's children are welcome as are all assistant coaches'. "That's tremendous," Hiestand said of the visits from his kids. "You don't have to not have a life (to be a successful coach)."
FULL STORY >>

For more than 54 years, FCA has been focused on one purpose . . . . . .

"Present to athletes and coaches, and all whom they influence, the challenge and adventure of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, serving Him in their relationships and in the fellowship of the church."
[Fellowship of Christian Athletes Statement of Faith]

Here's one of Tennessee Vols successful stories of a Christian Athlete named Will Bartholomew......
Will Bartholomew Keeping the Faith >>