Tennessee football will be fine. They don’t need the money.
Now, let me be clear, the Vols need proper finances to field a competent football team this fall, but they need to stay away from the UT athletic department’s recently allocated funds from congress.
Before you accuse me solely of being a sentimental romantic that sees the writing on the wall that reads like an obituary for non-revenue sports, I will indeed acquiesce. I am concerned that sports like Tennessee baseball, Lady Vol softball and Lady Vol basketball may take a deep back seat to football and men’s basketball simply because those two sports make money and the others don’t.
From a business perspective, UT should throw all the money it can at football, right? That $20.5-million that each school can spend on athletes should be reserved for those in shoulder pads? Nope. Spend it in every other area for two very pragmatic (NOT emotional) reasons.
First, the football team is going to find its money. If the congressional allocation doesn’t go to football players, then NIL sponsors will step up. Now, if the Vols don’t have their house in order, then there could be an issue. Tennessee shouldn’t regularly lose a prospect due to money, but that congressional allocation shouldn’t be the main go-to football account.
By growing and improving all other sports, which are all non-revenue other than football and men’s basketball, Tennessee will have a marketing campaign that money can’t buy. Every minute the baseball or women’s basketball team is on television, that’s good for the Vols – and good for UT football.
I’ll never forget the story that former Tennessee defensive back Terry Fair told me about his recruitment. He had never heard about the Vols until the teenage defensive back prospect from Arizona saw the Lady Vols on television in the NCAA Tournament.
No, he wasn’t a basketball prospect and he certainly wasn’t female, but if not for the Lady Vols, Fair is likely never an All-SEC cornerback at Tennessee.
