Lady Vols battle should be a lesson to the University of Tennessee

Victor Ashe
Shopper News columnist
Lady Vols logo

Since Nov. 14, 2014, when former UT athletic director Dave Hart decided to banish the Lady Vols logo for all women’s sports except basketball, the effort to restore the Lady Vols name has been pursued with passion and determination. On Sept. 14, it was officially restored and the almost three-year battle ended in victory for the Lady Vols supporters.

The Hart decision triggered a difficult, bruising and divisive war on the UT Knoxville campus and all the way to the legislature and the 2018 governor’s race as well as among alumni,athletes, sports fans and others. It was self-inflicted and harmful. My guess is that UT president Joe DiPietro is delighted to have it concluded and regrets privately he and chancellor emeritus Jimmy Cheek did not block it from the start. In fact, he personally called State Rep. Roger Kane last week inviting him to the news conference restoring the logo.

Dave Hart announcing his retirement last August.

It was a significant distraction and time consumer for many, including trustees, who failed to intervene but were bombarded with comments. Their failure to act or even discuss it in a public setting hurt their credibility and made them appear insensitive or disinterested or both.

Just as Coca-Cola learned the hard way many years ago with its failed introduction of the NEW COKE, you need to be sensitive to what the customer likes. Coca-Cola caved in weeks.

A protester carries a sign showing his displeasure with UT athletic director Dave Hart during a rally to bring the Lady Vols brand and logo back to UT women's athletics Dec. 20, 2014, at Pat Summit Plaza.

Over 40,000 Tennesseans signed a petition asking that the name return. The UT board of trustees was asked to hear comments at official board meetings but then it was discovered the board did not do public forums. The legislature then told the board they needed to start listening to the public in a comment period at board meetings.

Sylvia Billingsley, center, rallies with other protestors to bring the "Lady Vols"  brand and logo back to UT women's athletics, at UT's Pat Summit Plaza before the Tennessee-Stanford women's basketball game on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014.

Meanwhile, prominent Lady Vols fans like Susan Richardson Williams, a former UT trustee, spoke to all who would listen. Former UT swimmer and avid Lady Vols supporter Mollie Delozier of Knoxville was a force of energy in securing signatures on petitions. Former women’s athletic director Joan Cronan (while declining to make public statements), left no doubt where she stood on the issue. Last week, she spoke out for the first time stating that the legacy, excellence and tradition of the Lady Vols had been protected by this decision.

When the announcement was made, Richardson Williams, Cronan, along with Ann Furrow, first woman to serve on the UT board, and Sherri Lee, generous supporter of UT, were all in attendance.

donald page/tennessee athletics Tennessee coach Holly Warlick holds up a Lady Vols towel on Thursday night during Pat Summitt's Celebration of Life service at Thompson-Boling Arena. "I could sense people were somehow moved," former UT player Latina Davis said of the moment.

At Pat Summitt’s memorial service at Thompson Boling arena, neither the chancellor, the UT president nor the athletic director for whom she had worked was asked to speak – a stunning statement from Summitt loyalists. Lady Vols basketball coach Holly Warlick was included and held up a Lady Vols towel as part of her remarks. Everyone knows that had Summitt been in good health back in 2013 and 2014, her strongly held views would have blocked this decision. Hart could not have implemented this over Pat Summitt’s opposition in her prime.

From 2014 until Hart retired from UT, after a troubled tenure which included payouts of over $4 million to settle Title IX lawsuits, there was no movement to resolve the issue.

Despite efforts of state Sen. Becky Massey and Kane to sponsor legislation requiring the name be restored, UT spent time and effort dealing with legislative anger.

UT adopted a bunker mentality on the issue as long as Hart was AD. Only when he departed earlier than planned and a new chancellor and AD arrived did UT undertake a review. Chancellor Beverly Davenport indicated she received petitions on this before she even moved to Knoxville. Davenport and Currie had the freedom to take a fresh look as they had absolutely no role in the Hart decision. For the past four months, they have declined comment beyond saying they were listening, which left both sides wondering what that meant.

It turns out that Currie and Davenport were really listening. They heard from every constituency on the issue. They could not escape it wherever they went.

Meanwhile, as recently as 14 days ago, respected underdog Democratic gubernatorial candidate and House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh held a news conference in front of the Pat Summitt statue along with two GOP lawmakers, Kane and Martin Daniel, saying he would introduce a resolution again to urge UT to restore the name. U.S. Rep. Diane Black was the first GOP candidate to voice her backing of it on Twitter.

It was now clear to UT and trustees that this would become an issue in the governor’s race. There was not one serious candidate for governor willing to defend the removal of the Lady Vols logo. A few candidates were silent but none was willing to defend Hart and the UT administration on this issue. Everyone knew from a political standpoint there was only one side to favor.

Fitzhugh even went so far as to say that if elected he would raise the issue at his first UT board meeting. In other words, the UT powers that be were happy to accept the recommendation of Currie to restore the name and bury this issue. It had become a troublesome distraction as a major fundraising campaign began last week. The governor’s race is well underway and will last another 13 months. Fitzhugh could have kept the issue alive every week in the upcoming legislative session even in an outnumbered position.

People will speculate for a long time on how UT let itself get caught up in this unfortunate situation for three years. It did not have to happen. It can be a valuable lesson, if once leaders realize a mistake has been made, postponing a resolution does not improve it. Better to make amends and move on.

Hopefully, DiPietro has learned from this that it is better to get ahead of a volatile issue than to be consumed by it. Currie and Davenport solved it for him. They have won considerable good will for themselves and the university.

Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt and associate head coach Holly Warlick smile while being interviewed at Summitt's home on Monday, March 12, 2012 regarding their teams no. 2 seeding in the Des Moines regional of the NCAA tournament.

City Councilman Mark Campen turns 42 Sept. 27, while businesswoman Cathy Ackerman turns 68 on Sept. 29. Former U.S. senator Jim Sasser is 81 on Sept. 30. He and his wife, Mary, now live in Chapel Hill, N.C., where his daughter lives. Former Airport Authority chair Kirk Huddleston is 61 on Oct. 1 and former state Rep. Joe May is 61 on Oct. 2.