Tennessee Volunteers men's track and field

The Tennessee Volunteers men's track and field program represents the University of Tennessee in the sport of track and field. The indoor and outdoor programs compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Vols host their home outdoor meets at the newly renovated Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium, located on the university's Knoxville, Tennessee campus. Their rich tradition of success features 4 national titles, 7 finishes as national runner-ups, 62 NCAA individual champions, numerous All-Americans, 25 Olympians, 43 SEC championships (a conference-leading 25 outdoor wins), and 109 combined scoring appearances in the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships. The team is led by current head coach Duane Ross who took over the program after Beth Alford-Sullivan in May 2022.

Tennessee Volunteers track and field
Founded1901
UniversityUniversity of Tennessee
Athletic directorDanny White
Head coachDuane Ross[1][2] (May 2022-present season)
ConferenceSEC
LocationKnoxville, TN
Indoor trackStokely Athletic Center (Until 2012)
(Capacity: 12,700)
New Indoor Track Facility (2023- )[3]
Outdoor trackTom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium
(Capacity: 7,500)
NicknameVolunteers or "Vols"
ColorsOrange and white[4]
   
NCAA Indoor National Championships
2002
NCAA Outdoor National Championships
1974, 1991, 2001
NCAA Indoor National Runner up
1985, 1994, 1995
NCAA Outdoor National Runner up
1982, 1983, 1992, 2002
NCAA Indoor Tournament Appearances
1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
NCAA Outdoor Tournament Appearances
1950, 1951, 1956, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
Conference Indoor Championships
1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1996
Conference Outdoor Championships
1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 2001, 2002, 2007
Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium is the home of the Tennessee Vols track and field teams.

History

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The Tennessee Volunteers men's track and field program began in 1901 and first started intercollegiate competition in 1909 when the SIAA was formed. Records before the 1921 season were not kept, and are therefore incomplete. The Vols did not compete in the 1918 and 1919 seasons due to World War I. The team later joined the Southeastern Conference in 1933 where they have competed for the past 75 years. The sport was also kept on hold from 1943–1946 because of World War II and would later resume outdoor meets in 1947 and indoor meets in 1960.

Since the formation of the SEC the Tennessee Volunteers have been a consistent force in competition winning a combined 43 SEC titles, 3 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and 1 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship.[5][6]

Several coaches are responsible for the historical success of the UT track & field program. Chuck Rohe finished with a record of 87–10 (.896) and won an astonishing 15 consecutive SEC titles. Stan Huntsman took over the program in 1971 and would continue the success started by Rohe. During his tenure he led the Vols to a record of 93-26-3 (.775), 20 SEC titles and won the program's first NCAA title. In 1986 Doug Brown became the 4th coach for the Vols track & field team and finished with a 53–8 (.869) record and won 4 SEC titles and 1 NCAA title. Bill Webb took the program over following the 1995 season and would finish with a 52–1 (.981) record and an unprecedented 4 SEC titles and 2 NCAA titles, becoming the first coach to win multiple national titles at Tennessee.[7]

Christian Coleman became the first Vol to win The Bowerman,[8] an award that honors collegiate track & field's most outstanding athlete of the year. In 2017, Coleman swept NCAA titles in the 60 meters indoors and 100 meters outdoors, setting collegiate records in both.

Head coaches

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Source[9]

# Coach Years Seasons National Championships Conference Championships
Indoor Outdoor Indoor Outdoor
1 John Bender 1920 1
2 M. B. Banks 1921 1
3 A.W. Hobt 1922-1926 5
4 Bill Britton 1927-1935 9
5 Blair Gullion 1936-1938 3
6 John Barnhill 1939-1941 3
7 Sim Efland 1942 1
8 Walter Mehl 1947 1
9 Carlton Crowell 1948-1950 3
10 Louis Schneider 1951 1
11 John Sines 1952-1959 8
12 Ralph Patterson 1960-1962 3
13 Chuck Rohe 1963-1971 9 8 7
14 Stan Huntsman 1971-1985 15 1 7 13
15 Doug Brown 1986-1995 10 1 2 2
16 Bill Webb 1996-2009 14 1 1 1 3
17 J.J. Clark 2010-2014 5
18 Beth Alford-Sullivan 2015-2022 8
19 Duane Ross 2023- 2
Total 1 3 18 25

Yearly Record

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Source[10][11][12]

Season Coach NCAA Conference
Indoor Outdoor Indoor Outdoor
SIAA
1920 John Bender 14th
1921 M. B. Banks
1922 A.W. Hobt 6th
Southern Conference
1923 A.W. Hobt 3rd (14)
1924 A.W. Hobt T-6th (9)
1925 A.W. Hobt
1926 A.W. Hobt 18th (1.5)
1927 Bill Britton
1928 Bill Britton T-14th (5)
1929 Bill Britton T-10th (7)
1930 Bill Britton 7th (16.5)
1931 Bill Britton 11th (6)
1932 Bill Britton T-14th (5)
Southeastern Conference
1933 Bill Britton T-5th (15)
1934 Bill Britton 6th (16.3)
1935 Bill Britton T-6th (14)
1936 Blair Gullion T-5th (21)
1937 Blair Gullion T-8th (6)
1938 Blair Gullion 9th (5)
1939 John Barnhill 11th (2)
1940 John Barnhill 10th (5.167)
1941 John Barnhill 5th (17.5)
1942 Sim Efland 9th (8)
1943-1946 No Team
1947 Walter Mehl 8th (7.5)
1948 Carlton Crowell T-9th (9)
1949 Carlton Crowell T-6th (16)
1950 Carlton Crowell T-32nd (2.1) 5th (28.3)
1951 Louis Schneider 41st (1/6th) 3rd (33)
1952 John Sines 4th (33.5)
1953 John Sines T-3rd (25)
1954 John Sines 9th (7)
1955 John Sines 7th (16)
1956 John Sines T-46th (1) 8th (13)
1957 John Sines 9th (9)
1958 John Sines 8th (18.82)
1959 John Sines 9th (7)
1960 Ralph Patterson T-9th (1)
1961 Ralph Patterson 11th (5)
1962 Ralph Patterson 10th (2)
1963 Chuck Rohe 7th (0) 8th (7)
1964 Chuck Rohe 1st (41) 1st (61)
1965 Chuck Rohe T-40th (4) 1st (50) 1st (72)
1966 Chuck Rohe 39th (1) T-32nd (6) 1st (42) 1st (91)
1967 Chuck Rohe T-5th (24) 1st (58) 1st (72)
1968 Chuck Rohe 6th (12.75) T-14th (10) 1st (75) 1st (108)
1969 Chuck Rohe T-4th (16) 9th (28) 1st (111) 1st (118.5)
1970 Chuck Rohe T-4th (14) 13th (16) 1st (92.5) 1st (74)
^1971 Rohe/Huntsman 10th (8.25) 13th (16) 1st (80) 1st (148)
1972 Stan Huntsman T-23rd (4) T-10th (16) 2nd (62) 1st (154)
1973 Stan Huntsman T-8th (8) 5th (24) 1st (80) 1st (190)
1974 Stan Huntsman T-9th (7) 1st (60) 1st (69) 1st (207.5)
1975 Stan Huntsman T-40th (7) 6th (60) 4th (33.5) 1st (215)
1976 Stan Huntsman 3rd (40) 3rd (40) 2nd (40) 1st (179)
1977 Stan Huntsman 14th (13) 2nd (54.5) 1st (168)
1978 Stan Huntsman 28th (6) T-17th (4) 2nd (112) 1st (173)
1979 Stan Huntsman T-4th (24) T-11th (20) 2nd (106) 2nd (133)
1980 Stan Huntsman 3rd (38) T-18th (11) 3rd (102) 3rd (87)
1981 Stan Huntsman 3rd (33) 3rd (50) 1st (140) 1st (156)
1982 Stan Huntsman T-5th (23) 2nd (94) 1st (138) 1st (171.5)
1983 Stan Huntsman 5th (26) 2nd (102) 1st (127) 1st (121)
1984 Stan Huntsman T-20th (8) 27th (19) 1st (114) 1st (112)
1985 Stan Huntsman 2nd (23) T-9th (25) 1st (127) 1st (129.5)
1986 Doug Brown 10th (10) T-21st (13) 1st (119) 1st (158)
1987 Doug Brown T-26th (6) T-27th (19) 2nd (110) 2nd (128.5)
1988 Doug Brown 51st (1) 3rd (97) 4th (88)
1989 Doug Brown 56th (3) 2nd (114) 4th (78)
1990 Doug Brown T-13th (10) T-11th (21) 2nd (92) 2nd (124.3)
1991 Doug Brown T-31st (7) 1st (51) 1st (146) 1st (183)
1992 Doug Brown 35th (2) 2nd (46.5) 3rd (108) 2nd (149)
1993 Doug Brown 3rd (25) 4th (44) 2nd (81) 3rd (183)
1994 Doug Brown 2nd (40) 3rd (38) 2nd (87) 2nd (145)
1995 Doug Brown 2nd (26) 5th (31) 2nd (88) 2nd (155.5)
1996 Bill Webb 11th (19) T-10th (19) 1st (92) 2nd (124.3)
1997 Bill Webb T-10th (16) T-47th (5) 3rd (71.5) 4th (88)
1998 Bill Webb T-51st (4) 5th (108) 4th (149)
1999 Bill Webb T-15th (15) T-12th (22) 4th (81) 3rd (183)
2000 Bill Webb 13th (14) 15th (17) 5th (58) 3rd (107.75)
2001 Bill Webb 9th (19) 1st (50) 3rd (88) 1st (155.5)
2002 Bill Webb 1st (62.5) 2nd (57) 2nd (130) 1st (147)
2003 Bill Webb 5th (23) T-7th (30) 4th (69) 2nd (111.5)
2004 Bill Webb T-56th (2) T-13th (20) 6th (60) 4th (108)
2005 Bill Webb T-16th (14) T-19th (14) 3rd (89) 3rd (109)
2006 Bill Webb 5th (25) 6th (30) 2nd (106) 2nd (126.5)
2007 Bill Webb T-10th (21) 4th (31) 2nd (115.5) 1st (129.5)
2008 Bill Webb 5th (26) 13th (21) 3rd (99.5) 3rd (97.5)
2009 Bill Webb 38th (5) 48th (5) 3rd (78) 8th (53)
2010 J.J. Clark 45th (5) 10th (24.5) 9th (46)
2011 J.J. Clark T-39th (5) T-64th (1) 7th (46.3) 8th (49)
2012 J.J. Clark T-56th (3) 7th (40.5) 10th (30)
2013 J.J. Clark T-40th (5) T-77th (.75) T-8th (32) T-11th (33)
2014 J.J. Clark T-18th (12) 9th (34) 11th (24.5)
2015 Beth Alford-Sullivan 17th (11) T-18th (10.5) 7th (48) 12th (28.5)
2016 Beth Alford-Sullivan 3rd (34) 6th (30) 8th (24.5) 9th (46)
2017 Beth Alford-Sullivan T-10th (20) T-7th (20) 10th (23.5) T-9th (25.5)
2018 Beth Alford-Sullivan T-53rd (3) 55th (3) 7th (44) 6th (65.5)
2019 Beth Alford-Sullivan T-35th (7) T-61st (1) 6th (50) 7th (68)
2020 Beth Alford-Sullivan 5th (67)
2021 Beth Alford-Sullivan 9th (21) 11th (21) 6th (50) T-6th (67)
2022 Beth Alford-Sullivan 3rd (31) 3rd (34) 6th (50) 3rd (83)
2023 Duane Ross 11th (18) T-22nd (11) 5th (54) 3rd (87)
2024 Duane Ross T-44th (3) T-8th (32.5)
Total 1 3 18 25

Note: The 2020 season was canceled after the SEC Indoor Championships due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the SEC Outdoor and both NCAA Championships were not held.

^Chuck Rohe coached the 1971 team through the indoor season, while Stan Huntsman took over the program for the outdoor championships.

NCAA Individual Event Champions

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The Vols have claimed 26 NCAA Indoor individual championships and 36 NCAA Outdoor individual champions all-time.[9]

Conference Individual Event Champions

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Tennessee Vol athletes have won a total of 174 SEC Indoor individual titles, and 228 SEC Outdoor individual crowns through the end of the 2022 season.[9]


Tennessee Volunteer Olympians

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Through the 2020 Summer Olympics, 25 Tennessee athletes have represented 6 different nations at the Olympic Games, winning a total of 4 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze medals.[9]

Medalists

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Athlete Country Olympics Event Medal
Justin Gatlin   United States 2004 Athens 100 m Gold
4x100 m relay Silver
200 m Bronze
2012 London 100 m Bronze
2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m Silver
Sam Graddy   United States 1984 Los Angeles 4x100 m relay Gold
100 m Silver
Lawrence Johnson   United States 2000 Sydney Pole vault Silver
Timothy Mack   United States 2004 Athens Pole vault Gold
Aries Merritt   United States 2012 London 110 m hurdles Gold

Participants

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Athlete Country Olympics
Jangy Addy   Liberia 2008 Beijing
2012 London
Tavis Bailey   United States 2016 Rio de Janeiro
Doug Brown   United States 1972 Munich
1976 Montreal
^1980 Moscow
Christian Coleman   United States 2016 Rio de Janeiro
Tony Cosey   United States 2000 Sydney
Anthony Famiglietti   United States 2004 Athens
2008 Beijing
Willie Gault   United States ^1980 Moscow
Trevor James   Trinidad and Tobago 1972 Munich
Paul Jordan   United States ^1980 Moscow
1984 Los Angeles
Gary Kikaya   Democratic Republic of the Congo 2004 Athens
2008 Beijing
Aric Long   United States 1992 Barcelona
Carey McLeod   Jamaica 2020 Tokyo
Phil Olsen   Canada 1976 Montreal
Tom Pappas   United States 2000 Sydney
2004 Athens
2008 Beijing
José Parrilla   United States 1992 Barcelona
1996 Atlanta
David Patrick   United States 1992 Barcelona
Leigh Smith   United States 2008 Beijing
Darryl Sullivan   United States 2020 Tokyo
John Tillman   United States 1992 Barcelona
Todd Williams   United States 1992 Barcelona
1996 Atlanta

^Did not compete due to boycott.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tennessee athletics parts ways with track and field director Beth Alford-Sullivan". Knoxnews.com.
  2. ^ "Tennessee tabs Duane Ross, NCAA coach of the year in 2021, to lead track and field program". Knoxnews.com.
  3. ^ "Focused on the Future, White Launches "My All" Campaign".
  4. ^ "General Information". UTSports.com. June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "UTSPORTS.COM – University of Tennessee Athletics – Fans". Utsports.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-15.
  6. ^ "University of Tennessee Athletics Fans". Utsports.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09.
  7. ^ "2011 Track & Field Media Guide – UTSPORTS.COM – University of Tennessee Athletics". Utsports.com.
  8. ^ "Christian Coleman Wins The Bowerman In 2017 ::: The Bowerman: The Nation's Top Award for Collegiate Track & Field Athletes". The Bowerman. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  9. ^ a b c d "2021-22 Track and Field Record Book" (PDF). S3.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  10. ^ "TRACK AND FIELD 2021 22 Record Book (PDF)" (PDF). University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Men's Outdoor Track and Field Record Book" (PDF). A.espncdn.com. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  12. ^ "Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Record Book" (PDF). Static.soconsports.com. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
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