BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The turnaround academically for Tennessee's football program continues, as the Volunteers had another solid showing in the classroom.
The team posted an aggregate grade point average of 2.85, spearheaded by the 51 players who recorded a 3.0 or better, this past semester after the Vols achieved a team GPA of 2.75 in the fall.
It's a far cry from the fall semester of 2011 -- one year prior to third-year coach Butch Jones's arrival -- when the Vols posted a team GPA 2.08 and would have had multiple players ineligible for a bowl game. Of course, a bowl game was not an option since the Vols went 5-7 that season.
"It's all about student-athletes in our football program," Jones said before heading into a large tent on the infield at Bristol Motor Speedway to sign autographs for fans at the Big Orange Caravan on Monday night.
"It's also (about) life after football. Yeah, I'm measured on wins and losses, but there's more to it than that. It's making sure everybody is a better person, a better student, because they are part of Tennessee football.
"It starts with graduation and our Vol for Life program, but again I'm just excited about our kids. I'm excited (about) the hard work they put in the classroom. That's another indication of the culture we have now in place."
In the five fall and spring semesters since Jones took over for Derek Dooley in December 2012, the team GPAs have been 2.80, 2.64, 2.62, 2.75 and 2.85.
Jones inherited a poor situation in regard to the Academic Progress Rate, and with the standard minimum score increasing shortly after he took over, the Vols had to improve their academics to avoid penalties such as postseason ineligibility or limitations on practice time.
The coach's contract includes bonuses for single-year APR scores of 945 or better ($50,000) or 965 or better ($100,000), but Jones credited his players and the staff of the Thornton Center, the university's hub for student-athlete academics, for continuing Tennessee's success in the area.
"It starts with people, and we have the right people in place, whether it's in our administration, the Thornton Center, our coaches and our players," Jones said. "It's all about the players. We recruit players that value a college degree, and that's very, very important. And we spend a lot of time on that in the recruiting process.
"Our standards and expectations are very high, but when you're at the University of Tennessee, they're always going to be high, because that's what we expect. We expect excellence in the classroom, excellence on the field as well and excellence in the community."
'Battle at Bristol'
In 480 days, the spot where Jones signed autographs for Tennessee fans in attendance will be just a few yards away from one of the end zones for the "Battle at Bristol," the football-game-at-the-race-track between the Vols and Virginia Tech.
The pavement of the infield again was painted with the yard lines and hash marks Monday, one night after athletic department personnel for both Tennessee and Virginia Tech met at the track as the planning continues for the game.
From Tennessee's end, ticket sales for the game already have been strong, and the expectation continues to be the spectacle will break college football's attendance record.
Former University of Texas head basketball coach Rick Barnes addresses reporters after being named head coach at the University of Tennessee on March 31, 2015, in Knoxville."When you come down and you see the magnitude of the track, the magnitude of this place, it's really exciting," Jones said. "Your imagination starts to flow of what it will look like in terms of a football setup. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be exciting for our fans. It's going to be exciting for our players.
"It's something that you have an opportunity to make history."
Barnes makes Bristol debut
Growing up across the mountains in Hickory, N.C., new Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes grew up watching NASCAR, but he'd never been to the track in Bristol until Monday night.
Once here, Barnes joked he wished he had a car with which he could run a couple of laps around the half-mile track.
"When we turned the corner and I saw it, I was blown away," he said. "I knew it was big, but I had no idea what it really was about. I grew up watching it all, so it's great to actually be here."
Barnes favors changes
If recent proposed rule changes are voted into effect, college basketball will have some new features next season, including a 30-second shot clock, one fewer timeout for teams and an expanded restricted area under the basket.
Barnes largely agrees with the proposed changes and hopes college basketball continues to adapt rules to help offenses as multiple other sports and leagues have done, but he also said players and officials will play the largest role in improving college hoops.
"For the game to get back to where everybody wants it to be, players have to improve in terms of shooting," he said. "No rule change is going to affect that part of it. Players are going to all have to get better at that.
"Officiating is a big part of that. I think the new hire with the national officiating in trying to bring everything under one umbrella is the way that it has to be done. The rules have to be called. Whatever the rules are, call the rules of the game."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.