2023-24 was the 'most extraordinary year of success' in Tennessee athletics history
The 2023-24 academic year brought “the most extraordinary year of success across all 20 sports” in the history of Tennessee Athletics, according to the Tennessee athletic department. The Vols finished a program-best third in the Learfield Directors’ Cup while winning a baseball national championship and multiple SEC titles.
Tennessee Baseball’s national championship was the first for the baseball program and the first national title won by the Vols or Lady Vols since the women’s track team were national champions in 2009, a year removed from the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball program winning its eighth national title in 2008.
The baseball championship was the 24th team championship in Tennessee athletics history and included the SEC regular-season championship, the SEC Tournament championship and an SEC record for single-season wins with 60.
Tennessee is first SEC school to win baseball, softball and men’s basketball conference titles in same year
Tennessee also became the first SEC school to win a conference championship in men’s basketball, baseball and softball in the same season.
Tennessee won the SEC All-Sport Championship trophy for a third straight year after all 20 UT sports reached the postseason for the first time in school history. Tennessee was on of two Power 5 schools to have all sports reach the postseason in 2023-24.
The Vols are also the only athletic department to have postseason teams in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball in the last three years.
Tennessee had 11 sports finish the academic year in the top 10 and six in the top five of their respective rankings. Nineteen of 20 teams were ranked in the top 25, 17 were in the top 15 and 13 were in the top 10. Seven were ranked in the top five.
The Vols and Lady Vols combined for four SEC championships in 2023-24 and have won 12 conference titles since 2021. Before 2021, they had won just two SEC championships over the previous two years.
Vols had record-breaking year in academics
Tennessee Basketball had the SEC Player of the Year in Dalton Knecht, a Consensus First Team All-American and softball’s Karlyn Pickens was the SEC Pitcher of the Year.
Three Tennessee coaches were named National Coach of the Year in their sport: Baseball’s Tony Vitello, rowing’s Kim Cupini and women’s tennis coach Alison Ojeda.
The success didn’t stop on the field. Academically, Tennessee student-athletes had a record-breaking 2024 spring semester with a cumulative GPA of 3.37, the second-highest GPA for a spring semester in UT history according to Tennessee Athletics.
The Vols and Lady Vols had a 3.40 GPA in the fall and all 16 sports earned a team GPA of 3.00 or higher for a third consecutive semester. There were 60 student-athletes with a 4.00 GPA, 221 on their respective Dan’s List and 77% with a 3.00 GPA or higher.
