The Blue Workhorse

Over the holiday weekend, the University of Tennessee Athletic Department unveiled the new and improved compensation packages for the head coaches of the two headlining sports in Knoxville.

Both Phillip Fulmer and Bruce Pearl received what I will label as “more than modest raises.”

Obviously, the University of Tennessee is not alone in their bursting budgets and a seemingly endless flow of funds that are spent on, let’s face it, a game. The problem is that neither of these raises, regardless of amount, was justified.

After the outrage and outcry that occurred when Heisman’s first article about Bruce Pearl was sent to some Tennessee Volunteers’ web sites, and subsequently, posted on UT message boards, he felt the need to write a rebuttal to all of those upset by his original post and to clarify where his allegiances lie because being called a Kentucky fan is quite the blasphemous statement.

I am not one to jump on bandwagons, and I will not begin now. I applaud Pearl’s actions this past week, and I hope he remains consistent with these values. If so, many Volunteer basketball fans will have a team they can be proud of on and off of hardwood.

Driving to work a couple of days after the Tennessee Lady Volunteers won their 8th National Championship in women’s basketball, I heard something that made my blood pressure slowly begin to rise.
Before I go on, as a native Tennessean, I would like to congratulate Pat Summit and the team, as a whole, for representing themselves [...]

Tennessee basketball is back and better than ever, and coach Bruce Pearl will forever be loved by Tennessee Volunteer fans.

Or will he?

Attendance is up, significant upgrades have been made to the arena, and most importantly, the basketball Vols are winning. There is no doubt these positive strides began with the arrival of coach Bruce Pearl on the campus of the University of Tennessee, but when it is all said and done will Bruce have done more damage than resurrection at the end of his time on Rocky Top?