UT Vols: It appears the smoke will clear on Rocky Top in 2018

Mike Strange
Shopper News columnist
The UT flag is run across the endzone after a successful field goal by Aaron Medley during a game between Tennessee and Southern Miss at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017.

During New Year’s Eve festivities last week, it occurred to me that the metaphorical ball couldn’t drop fast enough for Tennessee fans. Good riddance, 2017.

If ever a fan base was eager to ring in a new year, it’s the one that emanates from the campus in our fair city. And here in the early moments of 2018, there is hope for happier times. Never underestimate hope.

First, a final recounting of the year past. Sorry, it’s necessary.

Tennessee's Christian Coleman, right, cruises across the finish line next to Baylor's Maxwell Willis during a heat of the men's 100 meters in the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in Eugene, Ore., on Wednesday, June 7, 2017.

Occasions to wave the Power T flag in ’17 were rare, the individual world-class excellence of track phenomenon Christian Coleman being the zenith. (Speaking of flags, at least the Lady Vol banner can be raised again, a regrettable chapter ended.)

A football season disintegrated week by week. The prevailing drama was exactly how bad the crash would be. Historic, it turned out. Eight losses and zero SEC wins, both firsts.

A basketball season occupies two disjointed segments of a calendar year. The first, culminating in March, is the one the matters. After mid-winter promise the Vols faded off the postseason bubble. No NCAA tournament (or even NIT) for a third consecutive year.

The Lady Vols scored marquee wins but failed to survive the tournament’s first weekend.

Over at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, the workings of the NCAA bracket remained a hazy memory.

The worst was saved for last. An athletic director’s tenure came and went without ever popping a New Year’s Eve cork, the fallout of a coaching search never to be forgotten in the annals of coaching searches.

Enough old business. Clouds appear to be lifting, if only slightly thus far.

For football and baseball, both entrusted to new leadership, progress is still theoretical. At Thompson-Boling Arena, there are tangible signals. Alas, they are mixed.

Rick Barnes’ men opened the new season playing the best Tennessee basketball since Cuonzo Martin’s 2014 exit run stopped a possession short of the Elite Eight. The Vols raced back into the Top 25 and made that 13th-place SEC projection look ridiculous. 

Then conference play began with a slap in the face. The (lack of) effort in the home loss to Auburn last week could indeed point to finishing 13th. But a hoops season inevitably has peaks and valleys. The Vols deserve the benefit of the doubt for now. I believe Tennessee fans can be rewarded with a presence in March Madness.

Holly Warlick’s Lady Vols, meanwhile, look better after an offseason makeover that saw personnel both coming and going. They’re more watchable than a year ago as their narrative builds toward March.

Next month, the diamonds will be open for business. Tennessee will remain a national presence in softball. Can baseball join the party? That’s up to new coach Tony Vitello. Stay tuned is the only tip I’ve got to offer.

Finally, that thing that happens in the fall.

I have no idea how successful new football coach Jeremy Pruitt will be. Early returns in recruiting are positive, at least. Recruiting, though, hasn’t been Tennessee’s problem. It’s everything that comes after.

One thing for sure, UT fans needed a new face to rally around and they have it.

And, surprise, in the athletic director’s seat they have an old face to rally around, too: Phillip Fulmer.

Welcome to 2018. Ought to be interesting. Ought to be better.

Phil Fulmer at press conference on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017 after being named acting athletic director at the University of Tennessee.