Tennessee Volunteers track and field

Tennessee Volunteers track and field
University	University of Tennessee
Head coach	Beth Alford-Sullivan (June 2014 – present season)
Conference	SEC
Location	Knoxville, TN
Indoor track	Stokely Athletic Center (Until 2012) (Capacity: 12,700)
Outdoor track	Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium (Capacity: 7,500)
Nickname	Volunteers or "Vols"
Colors	Orange and white[1]
NCAA Indoor National Championships
Men's: 2002 Women's: 2005, 2009
NCAA Outdoor National Championships
Men's: 1974, 1991, 2001 Women's: 1981 (AIAW)
NCAA Indoor Tournament Appearances
Men's: 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 Women's: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021
NCAA Outdoor Tournament Appearances
Men's: 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 Women's: 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Conference Indoor Championships
Men's: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1996 Women's: 1984, 2005, 2009
Conference Outdoor Championships
Men's: 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 Women's: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984

Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium is the home of the Tennessee Vols track and field teams.

The Tennessee Volunteers 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.

History[]

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 47 SEC titles, 3 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and 1 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship.^[2][3]

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.^[4]

Christian Coleman became the first Vol to win The Bowerman,^[5] 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.

Coaching staff[]

It was released on May 21, 2014, that Coach JJ Clark would not be retained as Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. Penn State's Beth Alford-Sullivan was hired as UT head coach in June 2014. As of 2019, the coaching positions are as follows: Head Coach: Beth Alford-Sullivan, Associate Head Coach/Jumps: Travis Geopfert, Sprints: Ken Harden, Hurdles/Sprint: David Neville, Throws: John Newell, and Volunteer Pole Vault: Jim "Jimbo" Sullivan

Tennessee Olympic track and field medalists[]

Men[]

Athlete	Olympics	Event	Medal
Justin Gatlin	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	1984 Los Angeles	4x100 m relay	Gold
		100 m	Silver
Lawrence Johnson	2000 Sydney	Pole vault	Silver
Timothy Mack	2004 Athens	Pole vault	Gold
Aries Merritt	2012 London	110 m hurdles	Gold

Women[]

Athlete	Olympics	Event	Medal
Benita Fitzgerald-Brown	1984 Los Angeles	100 m hurdles	Gold
Tianna Madison	2012 London	4x100 m relay	Gold
LaVonna Martin	1992 Barcelona	100 m hurdles	Silver
DeeDee Trotter	2004 Athens	4x400 m relay	Gold
	2012 London	4x400 m relay	Gold
		400 m	Bronze

See also[]

• Tennessee Volunteers cross country

References[]

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_indoor_champs_records/2018-19/D1Men.pdf http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_indoor_champs_records/2017-18/D1women.pdf http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2017/D1Women.pdf

External links[]

• [1] – Tennessee Volunteers sports news from The Knoxville News Sentinel.
• [2] – Official webpage of the Tennessee Volunteers track and field teams.