Rick Barnes explains importance of fans to Tennessee's success

Tennessee athletics is rolling in recent years, having produced a 10-win football team in 2022, always top-rated baseball clubs, back-to-back second weekends in the NCAA Tournament in men’s hoops, plus other successes.

It’s just a great time to be a Volunteer, and that’s a sentiment head hoops coach Rick Barnes reflected on in his recent offseason press conference. Of course, the basketball team enjoyed arguably its most successful season of all time in 2024, winning the SEC regular season while then making the Elite Eight — tied for the furthest a Tennessee team has ever made it in the big dance.

So, in reviewing that season plus the sports year as a whole for the Orange and White, Rick Barnes thanked the fans and administration for helping produce such a fun and successful sports scene in Knoxville.

“Our fans, they’re really important,” Barnes began. “When you come to a football game, basketball game, baseball game, softball game, volleyball game — you go down the line, I was at tennis Sunday — and you just feel the love that our fan base has for the University of Tennessee and its athletic department. You can’t come in this state without feeling the impact of the Power T.”

Barnes has noticed the phenomenon among recruits, who are amazed by the strength of the community — both on the field or court and in the stands — that comes with being a Tennessee Volunteer.

“With that said, when you bring a recruit into a basketball game or any of those other events, they feel it. It’s something special about Rocky Top and we actually talked to some guys the other day and I love it when they say to me: ‘You know, we’re looking forward to visiting Rocky Top.'”

Rick Barnes also singled out the folks behind the scenes, higher-ups in the athletic department who really overseen one of the golden eras of Tennessee sports.

“So, we know it’s a national brand and something that people know about, and I think we’re going to continue to build it because of the success that — not just the athletic department is having but the university with the great leadership from Randy Boyd and Donde Plowman, Danny White. What they’ve done is really remarkable and it’s fun to be a part of.”

Sounds like Rick Barnes will continue to be apart of and a face for Tennessee athletics for the foreseeable future. He’s a happy camper in Knoxville with a great community surrounding him.