The drought is over.
Tennessee has won a national championship. No matter the metric, that hasn’t happened in a long, long time.
The Vols snared that elusive national title with a 6-5 win over Texas A&M in Game Three of the College World Series Final to wrap up the tournament in Omaha, Neb., on a muggy night in which the Vols were in charge for most of the game.
Tennessee finished the season with a 60-13 record, a regular season SEC championship, an SEC Tournament championship and, of course, a national title, which is Tennessee’s first ever in baseball.
Before Monday, the Vols last won a national championship in a major sport, which is considered football, baseball and men’s and women’s basketball, in 2008 when the Lady Vols secured a national title in basketball. As for the men, they last won a national title in 1998 in football. Now, Tennessee’s baseball team has achieved the ultimate goal.
Say goodbye to the debacle of a decade that undermined the Vols’ football team in the 2010’s. Never mind a basketball team that seems to be capped by a glass ceiling in the NCAA Tournament that lies at the Elite Eight level. And, for the moment, completely disregard a Lady Vols’ program that has seemed intent on destroying its own. All that misfortune is suddenly a distant memory. Thanks to Tennessee’s baseball team. Don’t think about the past. Just think about the Vols winning it all.
Who would have guessed that some guy named Anthony Gregory Vitello from St. Louis, Mo., would lead the Vols back to the promised land? Tennessee’s last men’s national championship had a much different feel. Former Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer won a championship after three decades as a player and coach for the Vols. He was as homegrown as Dolly Parton. Vitello doesn’t have those same ties, which will always make some worry that he might leave for another job.
Other than that, there isn’t any reason to think that Tennessee’s first ever national championship in baseball will be their last. Vitello, 45, has clearly built a juggernaut that shows no sign of slowing down.
In fact, he has already benefitted from the success he’s had just recently. Just look at the Vols’ recruiting. Tennessee has what most consider the top signing class in the nation ready to enroll this fall.
I’m sure that many believed Tennessee was due for another championship or two after Fulmer won one in 1998, football’s first in 47 years. However, that wasn’t the case. Fulmer would never play for another national championship.
Tennessee came close to playing for a national championship in 2001 before falling to LSU in the SEC Championship Game. In other words, enjoy the good times while they’re here. Vitello seems destined to win multiple conference and, perhaps, national championships, but sports can change quickly.
Tennessee’s greatest upcoming challenge may not be who they’ll play on the field, but who might be leading them. Texas fired longtime head coach David Pierce after eight seasons on Monday. Rumors have persisted that the Longhorns will target Vitello. However, there doesn’t seem to be a reason why Vitello would leave Tennessee, especially after building them into a national powerhouse.
Tennessee fans might have fretted about such things, like coaches departing on a whim, but that just doesn’t seem so, well, Tennessee-like anymore. Tennessee now seems like the place to be, not the place to avoid.
Credit Tennessee athletic director Danny White for building that atmosphere. The Vols used to feel fortunate to have good coaches. Now, good coaches should feel fortunate to be at Tennessee given the support offered by the Vols’ program. Anyone remember what Tennessee baseball used to be just a few short years ago before Vitello was hired? I didn’t think so.
For now, never mind what Vitello does. Don’t worry about what the Vols have returning next season. Just enjoy a national title. Let it sink in. They only come around about once per decade – if you’re lucky.
