University of Tennessee Athletics
Ask Mike - June 2005
July 13, 2005 | General
July 13, 2005
Mike Keep up the good work. I know you have had to make some difficult decisions as of late. My question is on an easier subject. What changes will be made to the football uniforms this year? I have read that we will be going back to the black shoes which I believe is a good move. Can we also bring back the thicker stripe on the helment? The thowback jerseys look nice as well. Will we be wearing those again this year? thanks, Larry Sutton
Larry Sutton, New Orleans
Hi Larry,
Thanks for your e-mail. I think the only changes currently in the works for this year is the addition of the black socks and shoes. As for the retro jerseys, we had a lot of good responses on those last year. Unfortunately they do not meet the NCAA guidelines, and we were only granted a one-time reprieve to wear them last year.
Thanks for your support of the Vols!
Mike
I am sure this is the #1 question for this month and I am sure that you have answered it many, many times. I enjoyed last years seanson opener so much with Boomsday on Sat. night and the game on Sunday night. Why a Saturday day game on regional coverage instead of a Sunday night on ESPN (nation wide?) We all know the the Florida game is a night game on CBS and they always seem to play night games in Baton Rouge, so why the move for the Labor Day weekend? I understand that you cannot please everyone but I think a great vote of confidence would come if you viewed the game in the 100+ degree heat with the rest of us instead of an air conditioned suite?
Shaun Anderson, Knoxville Tennessee
Hi Shaun,
Thanks for your e-mail. First, to answer your question about why not play on Sunday, we moved our game last year to take advantage of the opportunity to be the only game on national television in that time slot. While the coverage was great and many of our fans enjoyed the later kick-off, it was an inconvenience and burden on many other fans who had already made their travel arrangements or needed to be back for work on Monday. While I would like to possibly schedule another Labor Day Sunday game in the future, I did not want to do it in back-to-back years out of respect for all of the fans who had to change their travel arrangements last year.
There are a lot of factors that go into our scheduling, one of which are the leagues commitments to ESPN and JP Sports. Although I would personally prefer a 7 pm game, we have obligations through our SEC partnership.
If we did opt out of the SECs TV commitment to JP, then the only option fans without tickets will have would be to watch the game on PPV, which is another burden for fans who can not afford tickets.
Tennessee is going to get a lot of national exposure this year with our schedule. I realize the 12:30 kick-off will be an issue for some fans, but as I reviewed our options, it seemed to be our best option for the most people.
Thanks for your support of Tennessee athletics.
Go Vols!
Mike
Dear Director Hamilton
Can we not get a handle on these arrests (DUI, fights, etc)? I am tired of reading/watching all the negative press that has been reported over the last few months. It seems like when Coach Dickey was the AD, we did not have this serious problem. I'm sure I am not the only alumni to contact you on this issue. I am also sure, that you and Coach Fulmer are working on resolving this matter. Lets hope so.
Daniel Bracken UTK '91, Birmingham, Alabama
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your e-mail. I share your concern about the image the recent incidents' have had on the university and the program. Coach Fulmer and I have had several discussions about this, and I assure you he is just as troubled.
We expect our student-athletes to be responsible young men, and the issues we have experienced recently will not be tolerated. We have a lot of great young men on our teams, but unfortunately the actions of a few taint our university and our team. Rest assured that we are meeting with all student-athletes and reinforcing with them that we expect them to be good representatives of our university. If this behavior continues, they will no longer be members of our football team.
We firmly believe that our student-athletes must be held accountable for their actions and need to understand that type of behavior is not accepted from a member of the UT athletics program.
Thanks for your support of Tennessee.
Go Vols!
Mike
