Tennessee Volunteers | ||||
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University | University of Tennessee | |||
Conference | SEC | |||
Location | Knoxville, TN | |||
Head coach | Rick Barnes (2nd year) | |||
Arena |
Thompson-Boling Arena (Capacity: 21,000) |
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Nickname | Volunteers | |||
Student section | Rocky Top Rowdies | |||
Colors | UT Orange and White |
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Uniforms | ||||
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NCAA Tournament Elite Eight | ||||
2010 | ||||
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
1967, 1981, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014 | ||||
NCAA Tournament second round | ||||
1967, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 | ||||
NCAA Tournament appearances | ||||
1967, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014 | ||||
Conference tournament champions | ||||
1936, 1941, 1943, 1979 | ||||
Conference regular season champions | ||||
1936, 1941, 1943, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 2000, 2008 |
The Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball team is the intercollegiate men’s basketball program for the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. The Volunteers (commonly referred to as the "Vols") compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The Volunteers play their home games in Thompson-Boling Arena. With a capacity of 21,678, Tennessee has consistently ranked in the top fifteen in the nation in terms of attendance. Historically, Tennessee ranks fifth in the SEC in all-time wins. Many notable players have played collegiately at Tennessee—players such as Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, Allan Houston, Dale Ellis, and Chris Lofton.
The Volunteers are currently coached by Rick Barnes, who was hired on March 31, 2015 to replace Donnie Tyndall.
In 1963, the University of Tennessee hired Ray Mears to become the head coach of the men's basketball program. The hiring of Mears, who was coming off a NCAA small college championship at Wittenberg University, ushered in the most sustained period of success in Tennessee men's basketball history.
In his first year, Mears’s Volunteers improved from a 4–19 record in 1962 to 13–11, highlighted by two wins over the Kentucky Wildcats. Before Mears, Tennessee had only beaten the Wildcats twice in 39 meetings. Throughout his career, Mears gained notoriety throughout the SEC for frequently being a thorn in the powerhouse Kentucky’s side. In an era where Kentucky was coached by future College Basketball Hall of Fame members Adolph Rupp and Joe B. Hall, winning 75% of their games, Mears recorded a 15–15 record against the Wildcats.