From the mid-1980s until about 2008, the Tennessee Vols were marked with a period of unprecedented prosperity when you factor in the totality of success in the athletic programs.
Football had been revived under Johnny Majors and then Phillip Fulmer, basketball achieved rare success under specific coaches, women’s basketball reached amazing heights, and baseball, softball, and track and field all took off as well.
Most of this success was marked by great hires from the athletic directors that brought a period of unmatched stability.
But that same stability has been turned on its head in recent years through a multitude of dumb decisions by the athletic department.