The Tennessee Volunteers compete in NCAA Men’s Basketball as a part of the Southeastern Conference. Florida, LSU, and Kentucky are some notable teams from their conference. They were founded in 1908.
The university got its nickname from the State of Tennessee, which is called the Volunteer State, as they had helped out on multiple occasions during wars in the 1800s. They are also called the Vols.
Since their first logo was launched back in 1967, the Volunteers have had a simple orange-colored letter T as their logo. There was a 13-year period from 1983 to 1996 where the logo was changed to a man with a gun but it was reverted to the original in 1997.
| Founded | 1908 |
| Conference | Southeastern |
| Athletic Director | Phillip Fulmer |
| Head Coach | Rick Barnes |
| Arena | Thompson–Boling Arena |
| Championships (0) | – |
| Conference Tournament Titles (4) | 1936, 1941, 1943, 1979 |
| Conference Regular Season Titles (10) | 1936, 1941, 1943, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 2000, 2008, 2018 |
| Website | https://utsports.com/sports/mens-basketball |
The current Volunteers’ coach is Rick Barnes. He was appointed in 2015 after working as a head for almost three decades.
He was named as the Naismith College Coach of the Year Award in 2019 for leading the team to a record. Under Barnes, the Volunteers were ranked as the number one team in the AP Poll for only the second time.
The current athletic director of the Volunteers is Phillip Fulmer. He joined the University in 1968 when he featured for their football team. Post his playing career, he joined as a coach and was eventually appointed as the AD in 2017.
Fulmer also holds the title of Vice-Chancellor of the university.
With 1471 wins, the Tennessee Volunteers are the third-ranked team in all-time wins in the Southeastern Conference.
Their most successful season was in 2010 when they made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
They enter the 2020-21 season ranked 12th in the AP Poll.
The Volunteers are yet to win an NCAA championship.
The Tennessee Volunteers have produced some greats in the NBA. Over the years, players like Allan Houston, Bernard King, and Dale Ellis have become stars in the NBA after coming through the ranks at Tennessee. King is an NBA Hall of Famer, who was also a two-time Player of the Year with the Volunteers,
Currently, five former Volunteers are playing in the NBA, Josh Richardson and Tobias Harris being the two most notable ones.
The team mascot for the Volunteers is called Smokey. The first mascot was a live dog, a Coonhound, named Smokey. After his passing, his son Smokey II was named as the mascot, and since then, there have been many over the years; Smokey X being the current mascot.
They also have a costumed version of the mascot who was first seen in 1980. He is accompanied by his younger brother, Junior Smokey.
The team colors for the Tennessee Volunteers are orange and white.
The Volunteers roster for the 2020-21 season has 17 players.
| Position | Jersey Number | Name | Height | Weight |
| G | 0 | Davonte Gaines | 6-7 | 181 |
| F | 3 | Drew Pember | 6-10 | 190 |
| G | 5 | Josiah-Jordan James | 6-6 | 207 |
| F | 10 | John Fulkerson | 6-9 | 215 |
| G | 11 | Jaden Springer | 6-4 | 204 |
| G | 12 | Victor Bailey Jr. | 6-4 | 179 |
| F | 13 | Olivier Nkamhoua | 6-8 | 223 |
| F | 15 | Corey Walker Jr. | 6-8 | 219 |
| G | 21 | Kent Gilbert | 6-1 | 164 |
| G | 24 | Isaiah Sulack | 6-5 | 170 |
| G | 25 | Santiago Vescovi | 6-3 | 188 |
| F | 30 | Brock Jancek | 6-8 | 222 |
| F | 32 | Cole Morris | 6-9 | 192 |
| F | 33 | Uros Plavsic | 7-0 | 262 |
| G/F | 35 | Yves Pons | 6-6 | 215 |
| G | 45 | Keon Johnson | 6-5 | 186 |
| F | 55 | E.J. Anosike | 6-7 | 245 |
The Tennessee Volunteers begin their 2020-21 season with a game against the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks on December 9. They have a 24-game regular season that ends with a home game against the Georgia Bulldogs on March 3, 2021.
The full schedule is available on the college website.
Tennessee Volunteers on Twitter: @Vol_Hoops
Tennessee Volunteers on Instagram: @vol_hoops