KNOXVILLE -- The University of Tennessee Athletics Board met on Saturday and presented an update on academic and community success of student-athletes, UTAD’s budget and several facility projects.
The meeting began with the introduction of UT’s new faculty athletic representative, Dr. Dan Murphy, and 14 new athletic board members.
The first topic of discussion was UTAD’s academic success and community involvement in 2008-09:
Ø Ten members of the football team are playing the 2009 season having already earned an undergraduate degree. Those Vols are enrolled in graduate classes, while five more members of the 2009 squad have met the requirements for one undergraduate degree and are working on a second certificate. This distinction makes Tennessee #1 nationally in the number of graduates on their current football roster. Of the 15 athletes who have graduated or met the requirements to graduate, 12 are contributing this the season.
Ø During the 2008-09 school year 78 student-athletes graduated for the University of Tennessee.
Ø In the spring of 2009, 227 out of 493 (46%) student-athletes had a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Ø Forty-seven former student-athletes have earned their degrees through the Renewing Academic Commitment (RAC) program in the past five years.
Ø Nineteen student-athletes were Chancellor Citation recipients, six were Academic All-Americas and two were NCAA post graduate scholarship winners.
Ø Lady Vol Swimmer Christine Magnuson was the SEC female Boyd McWhorter winner.
Ø UT student-athletes completed over 2,000 hours of community service in 2008-09
Following this discussion, was a report on UTAD’s budget. Athletics realized a cash surplus of $2.68 million for fiscal year 2009. UTAD was proud to provide approximately $4.24 million in support to the system and Knoxville campus programs which included $1.375 million for academic scholarships awarded to non-student athletes and $1.125 million for parking garage debt service.
The Volunteer Athletics & Scholarship Fund (VASF) and Boost-Her Club have joined together to create the Tennessee Fund. The Tennessee Fund was designed to consolidate and streamline the athletic benefit program and ensure equity in the program. Through the Tennessee Fund, the athletic department will assume central responsibility for the management of all athletic benefit priority programs, including the benefit program for those who contributed to non-athletic programs, and athletics will provide additional guaranteed direct cash support to the University at an average of $3.155 million per year over the next 10 years in addition to two other direct cash support payments the athletic department currently makes to the University.
The Tennessee Fund raised $37.27 million in 2008-09. This included $21.94 million in annual gifts and more than $12 million in gifts to capital projects, additional endowments and miscellaneous gifts. Athletic sales and marketing announced revenues of $13.67 million for 2008-09.
Men’s athletics director Mike Hamilton and women’s athletics director Joan Cronan presented an update on several facility projects:
Ø Football Training Complex – UTAD is breaking ground on the new football training complex this weekend. Construction of the new four-story 132,000 square foot facility will feature a new locker room, team lounge, equipment room, team and position meeting rooms, coaches offices, two-story weight room, men’s training room, and hydrotherapy room.
Ø Goodfriend Tennis Center – UTAD is looking at the feasibility of expanding the existing indoor tennis facility from four courts to six courts.
Ø Indoor Track and Volleyball Facility – UTAD is undergoing a feasibility study for a new indoor track and volleyball facility to be located off of Leinart Lane near the soccer and softball facilities.
Ø Intercollegiate Golf Complex – The golf complex is still under construction. Unfortunately due to the inordinate amount of rain the area has received this year, the construction crews have not had enough dry days to complete the tees and greens in time for the fall planting season. They are currently planting winter grass and are finishing the tee boxes.
Ø Lindsey Nelson Stadium – The second of four phases of renovations has begun at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville. Included will be the addition of a new club area and MVP seating behind home plate that will allow fans to sit closer to the field. Permanent chair-back seating will also be added throughout the entire main grandstand, while the stadium's exterior will be faced with brick. In addition, a new batting cage facility, approximately 60 yards in length, will be added down the right-field line and the visitor's locker room behind the third-base dugout will be renovated. Work is scheduled to be completed prior to the beginning of the 2010 campaign.
Ø Neyland Stadium - The first portion of Phase III renovations were completed in August. Work on the second phase will begin following the Vanderbilt game for completion for the 2010 season. The second portion of Phase III includes a new Gate 21 entry plaza, brick and wrought iron façade work along the north and west sides of the stadium, the addition of the Tennessee Terrace, and a statue of General Robert Neyland on the west side of the stadium which will be unveiled during Homecoming in 2010. The addition of the Tennessee Terrace is the primary funding source for the second portion of Phase III renovations. All season ticket holders impacted by these areas will be contacted about joining the Tennessee Terrace or moving to another area of the stadium based on their preference and availability. No one will be displaced out of Neyland Stadium or be required to increase their annual donation to maintain their current number of season tickets.
Ø Thompson-Boling Arena – Phase II of Thompson-Boling Arena renovations are going up for bid this spring. Phase II will include new coaches offices, new locker rooms, a new lobby for Tennessee basketball, a new souvenir store and street level façade work.
MURPHY APPOINTED NCAA FACULTY ATHLETIC REPRESENTATIVE
The University of Tennessee announced today that Dr. Dan Murphy has been appointed NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative. Murphy will replace Dr. Todd Diacon, who was named executive director for academic assessment and program support for the University of Tennessee System this summer.
“We are very excited to have someone with Dr. Murphy’s background and experience serving us in this increasingly important role,” said Mike Hamilton, men’s athletics director.
In this role, Murphy will serve as the university’s representative to the NCAA and the Southeastern Conference. The University president appoints the Faculty Athletic Representative on the advice and recommendation of the Faculty Senate and the Chancellor. The initial appointment is for a term of four years, with the possibility of appointment to one more term of four years. The Faculty Athletic Representative is always a tenured professor at the University of Tennessee.
“Dan was a valuable member of our athletics board several years ago, and we look forward to his continued input for years to come,” added Joan Cronan, women’s athletics director.
Murphy is the Deloitte & Touche Professor and Head of the Department of Accounting and Information Management. He teaches tax strategy, international taxation, and global issue and strategy in the Master of Accountancy and MBA programs.
“I look forward to working with our student-athletes, the Athletics Department, and our campus leadership to further our university’s educational mission. Dr. Diacon served admirably in this position, and I plan to continue efforts to promote student-athlete success in the classroom as well as on the playing field,” said Murphy.
Murphy joined the University of Tennessee in 1990 after completing his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a Certified Public Accountant and previously worked with two international accounting firms. His research focuses on the effect of taxes on investment behavior, family tax planning and public policy and has been published in The Journal of the American Taxation Association, The Journal of Taxation, Advances in Taxation and numerous other journals. He has been awarded a PriceWaterhouse Coopers Research Fellowship, a grant from the KPMG Peat Marwick Foundation and was named co-recipient of the Outstanding Author Award by the Journal of Financial Services Professionals. He has won numerous awards for teaching excellence including the Pugh & Company Accounting Faculty Excellence Award and the John Moore Award.
Murphy is very involved in professional and community service. He is active in the American Taxation Association and served as Vice-President and on the Board of Directors. He currently serves on the Board and as President-elect for the Accounting Programs Leadership Group of the American Accounting Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors of a number of professional and community organizations including the Knox County Board of Education.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)