Danny White adds the hashtag “#EverythingSchool” when retweeting social media posts by the University of Tennessee’s sports teams. The school’s athletic director has ample reason.
UT teams have made a habit of regularly achieving something noteworthy, something befitting a school that has won the Southeastern Conference’s all-sports trophy three consecutive times. There’s been enough consistency for White to consider “#EveryDay” to pair with his original creation.
I submit a five-day window beginning with last Saturday as an example. In doing so, I’m hamstringing my premise, since two of Spring’s best contributors – baseball and softball – either lost or didn’t play on two of those days.
Furthermore, football entered the period without a replacement for Nico Iamaleava. Regardless, the hashtag still fits.
Saturday April 19: Rowing, a sport that merits more attention for its turnaround under second-year coach Kim Cupini, earned a statement victory at the Big Ten Invitational when its top Varsity 8 boat beat No. 3 Washington and four other top-14 ranked teams. Overall, the sixth-ranked Lady Vols finished ahead of 18 ranked teams across five races that day.
Sunday April 20: The basketball Vols got a commitment from five-star recruit Nate Ament. The 6-foot-9 forward is ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2025 by On3, making him the highest-ranked prospect to sign with the Vols during this era.
Tennessee couldn’t announce the signing until Monday.
“In our eyes, he was the No. 1 player in the class,” UT coach Rick Barnes said. “We are thrilled to have him in Orange.”
Monday April 21: This was a full day. Along with the official announcement of Ament’s signing, softball achieved the No. 1 ranking in Softball America’s latest top 25 poll.
But the biggest news was football getting a commitment from UCLA transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar. His decision essentially completed a trade of sorts since Iamaleava is joining the Bruins.
Aguilar, a two-year starter at Appalachian State, passed for a lot of yards (6,760) and threw a lot of interceptions 24). Coaching will be tasked with achieving a better balance. Meanwhile, Aguilar’s 25 career starts ought to help with the transition, #Experience.
Tuesday April 22: This was not a full day. With softball dropping an extra-inning game to No. 19 Clemson, baseball was left holding the banner with a run-rule victory over Lipscomb. The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the defending national champions and avenged a loss to the Bisons last season.
“There’s like some Listerine out there,” UT coach Tony Vitello said. “Get that bad taste out of your mouth from the weekend.”
It’s worth noting Lady Vols basketball announced a second signing from the portal: UCLA transfer Janiah Barker. The 6-4 senior forward was the Big Ten Conference’s sixth player of the year honoree last season.
Wednesday April 23: The fans got in on the act with Tennessee announcing it led the nation in combined regular-season attendance for football and men’s and women’s basketball for a second consecutive season. The news was worthy of White’s favorite hashtag and the following boast: “We say this regularly and the numbers clearly confirm it: Knoxville is undeniably America’s college sports city.”
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters, U.S Basketball Writers and Greater Knoxville Sports Halls of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.