University of Tennessee Athletics
Inside the T: An Introduction
September 19, 2014 | General
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
I'm new here.
That may come as a surprise to many of you that have read the stories I have written over the last several years here on UTSports.com. It actually came as a surprise to many of my new colleagues here at UT.
I came to the University of Tennessee as a freshman in 2001 and never really left. Two degrees later, I was out of school and into the professional world. But the people here at UT allowed me to remain around to help out with events and to continue writing for this site. As technology evolved, I also added some broadcast work as Tennessee Athletics began live streaming events, one of the first schools in the country to do so.
Over the last two years, I have written more and more for this site, and much of that is thanks to the response from you, the readers, to my work. The more I've written, the more you're read and interacted and I'm exceptionally grateful for that. Largely because of your response, I'm proud to say I've joined Tennessee Athletics full-time as a writer for UTSports.com.
For those of you that, like my co-workers, thought I was already full-time, not much is going to change. You will continue to see coverage of the sports and athletes that you love. You're going to see a lot more of it. You'll also see a lot of new things here at UTSports.com. One of those new things is this piece that you're reading right now, a weekly column where I can talk to you the fans about the things I see and the common bonds we share as Vol fans.
I want to share the stories of our student-athletes with you. I want to bring you closer to them. I want to take you behind the scenes with our teams, both on campus and on the road. I want to introduce you to some of the amazing staff we have here at UT. And I want to hear from you and connect with you in another weekly feature we'll start soon.
I will continue to broadcast events as UT embarks on the new SEC Network partnership that will improve the quality and reach of everything we do. As I said earlier, Tennessee has always been a pioneer in online broadcasts and continues to be on the forefront as we make the move to the new platform.
Though I'm an employee, I'll always be a fan first. I've long had to temper that fandom in the professional and neutral environments that the press boxes and scorer's tables that I sit at have to be. But I've cheered for Tennessee my whole life, and that's never going to change.
While my job dictates that I can't jump up and down on a big play, know that I'm feeling it. I still think it's cool to see my name on a name card in the press box at Neyland Stadium. Riding on a team bus or plane never stops being awesome. Standing in the locker room while managers put jerseys over shoulder pads and place helmets in lockers is something I could do all day. Talking to John Ward on the phone for a story leaves me exactly as star-struck as it would most of you.
People have sent comments to me via email and Twitter that I have the coolest job in the world, and I agree with that. And having this job isn't something that I need to be selfish about. I want to share it with all of you through the pieces I produce. It's not just something I want to do, it's an obligation I feel to every Tennessee fan that may never stand in a locker room for a pregame speech or go through the Vol Walk or sit on a team flight.
This school and its teams mean a lot to me, as I know it does to you.
There's a lot to do, a lot of stories to tell, so let's get started. Just go easy on me, I'm new around here.
Brian Rice is a writer for UTSports.com. Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome via Twitter at @briancrice.
