University of Tennessee: VOLUNTEERING HIS TIME

Volunteers beat writer Wes Rucker examines meaningful dates in Phillip Fulmer’s long association with the University of Tennessee:

Sept. 1, 1950 — Phillip Fulmer was born in Winchester, Tenn. He became a football and baseball star at Franklin County High School and accepted a football scholarship from the University of Tennessee.

Sept. 14, 1968 — Fulmer, who chose UT in a tight recruiting battle with Alabama, began his college career as an offensive guard in the Vols’ 17-17 tie against Georgia in Neyland Stadium. UT finished 8-2-1 (4-1-1 SEC) that season, and No. 13 in the final Associated Press Poll.

Nov. 29, 1969 — Fulmer was a sophomore when the Vols defeated Vanderbilt 40-27 to finish the regular season with an SEC championship. A Gator Bowl loss to Florida would leave the Vols 9-2 and No. 15 in the final AP poll.

Dec. 20, 1971 — Fulmer, a captain, helped lead the Vols to a 14-13 Liberty Bowl victory over Arkansas, capping a three-year stretch in which the team went 30-5. The Vols finished Fulmer’s junior and senior seasons ranked No. 4 and 9 in the AP poll.

Dec. 29, 1973 — Fulmer’s two-year stint as a UT graduate assistant coach ended with a 28-19 loss to Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl. He then accepted a full-time position as offensive line coach at Wichita State and spent the next five years in Kansas before taking a similar position at Vanderbilt.

Sept. 6, 1980 — Head coach Johnny Majors brought Fulmer back to their alma mater as offensive line coach, and that season began this day with a 16-15 loss to Georgia in Neyland Stadium.

Sept. 2, 1989 — Fulmer’s first game as offensive coordinator was a 17-14 victory over Colorado State in Neyland Stadium. The Vols went on to average 28.6 points per game during that season and win their second SEC championship in five years. They finished 11-1 (6-1 SEC) and No. 5 in the AP poll after a Cotton Bowl win over Arkansas.

Sept. 5, 1992 — Fulmer’s first game as interim head coach was a 38-3 victory over Southwestern Louisiana at Neyland Stadium. He also led the Vols to victories over Georgia and Florida before Majors returned to the sideline.

Nov. 28, 1992 — Majors’ last game as UT head coach was a 29-25 win at Vanderbilt. Fulmer returned to his role as offensive coordinator upon Majors’ return from health issues, but his impending takeover caused awkward moments between two Tennessee native sons and UT graduates.

Jan. 1, 1993 — Fulmer’s first game as full-time head coach was a 38-23 victory over Boston College in the Hall of Fame Bowl, now called the Outback Bowl.

Jan. 25, 1994 — Peyton Manning stunned many observers by committing to UT. It took Fulmer less than one year as a full-time head coach to show the nation his recruiting ability. Even his biggest detractors generally agreed that he never lost that skill.

Dec. 6, 1997 — After a fifth consecutive September loss to Florida, Fulmer and Manning led a late-season rally that culminated this night in the Georgia Dome. The Vols came back in the fourth quarter to defeat Auburn, 30-29, for the first of two consecutive SEC titles. UT entered an Orange Bowl game against Nebraska with an outside shot to win the national title, but Nebraska thumped the Vols 42-17 in the Orange Bowl.

Sept. 19, 1998 — The Florida drought ended with a thrilling, 20-17 overtime victory that brought the goal posts down in Neyland. One was carried down Cumberland Avenue, the other deposited in the Tennessee River.

Nov. 14, 1998 — A season of fortune continued with an improbable 28-24 comeback win over also-unbeaten Arkansas. Defensive tackle Billy Ratliff pounced on Clint Stoerner’s bizarre fumble in the final minutes (when the Razorbacks could have run out the clock), and Travis Henry pounded the ball down the field and across the goal line to keep UT in the national championship hunt.

Dec. 5, 1998 — The Vols wrapped up a second consecutive SEC title with a 24-14 championship-game victory over Mississippi State.

Jan. 4, 1999 — Fulmer’s Vols defeated Florida State 23-16 to win the first Bowl Championship Series championship game. It was the school’s first consensus national title since 1951, and it capped a 45-4 four-year run for that senior class. Fulmer was named national and SEC coach of the year.

Nov. 13, 1999 — UT, a popular pick to repeat its national title, fell out of SEC championship contention with its second conference loss, a 28-24 stunner at Arkansas. The Vols still qualified for the BCS, losing 31-21 to Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.

Dec. 1, 2001 — The 18-point-underdogs Vols took a big step back toward the national championship game with a 34-32 victory at second-ranked Florida in a game delayed nearly three months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the Eastern United States.

Dec. 8, 2001 — A 31-20 loss to banged-up underdog LSU in the SEC championship game kept UT out of the national championship and BCS games. Fulmer has consistently called this the most disappointing loss of his career. The Vols rallied to throttle Michigan, 45-17, in the Capital One Bowl, which led to many publications calling them 2002 national title contenders. They would finish that season 8-5, though.

Dec. 4, 2004 — The Vols lost another SEC championship game, this time 38-28 to a heavily favored Auburn team that soundly defeated UT earlier that season in Knoxville. Still, this season started with two true freshman quarterbacks in Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer, and it ended with 10 wins for a second consecutive season. Experts said the program was back after a blowout Cotton Bowl win over Texas A&M, and the Vols were viewed as national title contenders heading into the 2005 season.

Jan. 24, 2004 — Birmingham lawyer Tommy Gallion unveiled documents that showed Fulmer and recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper helped spark the NCAA investigation that landed archrival Alabama on NCAA probation in 2002. Crimson Tide supporters claimed for much of the investigation that Fulmer actively sought to get Alabama punished.

June 24, 2004 — Fulmer’s attorneys told a federal judge in Memphis that their client couldn’t find documents subpoenaed by the attorneys of embattled Alabama booster Logan Young (who was later found guilty on three counts related to his $150,000 payment that brought Memphis high school star Albert Means to the Crimson Tide).

July 29, 2004 — Three days after UT officials announced that Fulmer would not appear at SEC Media Days in Birmingham, at least in part from fear of a Gallion subpoena, Fulmer addressed the media via speakerphone. He was clearly upset, criticizing the “renegade lawyers” that he claimed made it unsafe to appear in person.

June 24, 2005 — Nearly 3,000 pages of documents were unsealed, granting the public a first glance at some correspondence between Fulmer and former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer regarding Alabama’s recruiting tactics.

Sept. 26, 2005 — UT’s SEC Eastern Division championship hopes were damaged with a 16-7 loss at Florida on Sept. 17, but the Vols’ national shine was restored with an epic, 30-27 comeback victory at LSU on a Monday night, Hurricane-Katrina delayed game. Former LSU quarterback Rick Clausen led the remarkable second-half rally, which did nothing to settle a quarterback controversy with Ainge that would help define that season’s disappointment.

Oct. 29, 2005 — A 16-15 loss to South Carolina and new coach (but old nemesis) Steve Spurrier was UT graduate Randy Sanders’ last as Vols’ offensive coordinator. He resigned the next week, before a 41-21 loss at Notre Dame dropped UT to 3-5. Fulmer called plays the rest of the season.

Nov. 19, 2005 — A 22-year winning streak over Vanderbilt ended with a 28-24 loss at a stunned Neyland Stadium. The Vols missed a bowl game for the first time since 1988, when Fulmer was an assistant coach. A series of off-the-field players incidents before and during the season didn’t help matters.

Sept. 2, 2006 — DAvid Cutcliffe’s first game back as UT’s offensive coordinator was a 35-18 home romp over California that signaled the Vols’ return to offensive success. Blown fourth-quarter leads in home losses to Florida and LSU slightly soured an otherwise successful 9-4 season that ended with an upset loss to Penn State in the Outback Bowl.

Aug. 28, 2007 — Fulmer and wife Vicki made the largest of several financial contributions to UT, a $1 million donation to the school’s “Campaign for Tennessee” fund.

Oct. 20, 2007 — A 41-17 loss to Alabama sank the Vols to 4-3 (2-2 SEC), and talk about Fulmer’s future intensified for a frustrated fan base.

Nov. 24, 2007 — The Vols hung on for a 52-50, five-overtime win at Kentucky that sealed an improbable late-season run to the SEC East title.

Dec. 1, 2007 — A late lead disappeared with two Ainge interceptions in a 21-14 conference championship game loss to eventual national champion LSU. The upset victory would have given UT its first SEC title since 1998, but it was Fulmer’s third consecutive loss in the title game.

July 2, 2008 — Fulmer’s seven-year contract extension (through 2014) was announced by the university. The contract had plenty of variables and scheduled raises, but it averaged to about $3 million per season, excluding championship bonuses. A mathematical formula clause in the contract stated that his termination after the 2008 season would result in an approximately $6 million buyout, payable in 48 monthly installments. His staff’s buyout was listed around $3.5 million, depending on how quickly they were hired elsewhere.

July 24, 2008 — The Alabama fiasco resurfaced at SEC Media Days in Birmingham. Fulmer was served a subpoena to testify in a libel suit between the NCAA and former Tide booster Wendell Smith of Chattanooga. He was scheduled to give a deposition days before UT’s late-September game at Auburn, but his appearance has been delayed and will probably never happen, according to Fulmer’s attorneys.

Sept. 1, 2008 — Fulmer’s 57th birthday was a rough night on the West Coast, as the Vols were upset by UCLA, 27-24, in overtime at the Rose Bowl. UT was ranked No. 18 in the preseason poll, but that game was the start of a second nighmarish season in four years.

Nov. 1, 2008 — The Vols dropped to 3-6 (1-5 SEC) with another non-competitive loss, this one a 27-6 setback at South Carolina. UT failed to score 15 points for the sixth time in seven weeks. Several members of Fulmer’s family and staff were in tears after the game, and athletic director Mike Hamilton left Williams-Brice Stadium without comment because he was “showing some respect for Phillip tonight.”

Nov. 3, 2008 — Sources leaked information regarding Fulmer’s resignation in the morning, and the coach confirmed in a 5 p.m. news conference at Neyland Stadium that he was “accepting the university’s decision” for him not to return as head coach in 2009.