The Tennessee Volunteers men's cross country program represents the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

located in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

. The men's program competes in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) Division I and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC). The men's cross country team officially started in 1924.

Coaching staff

Upon entering the 2011-2012 school year George Watts had been a part of the University of Tennessee cross country team for 26 years and as head coach of the men's cross country team. Under his mentor he has developed 25 All-SEC citations, 13 All-SEC or All-South Region, three SEC All-Freshman honorees and three All-America performers. In July 2011 it was announced that Watts had been released and that J.J. Clark would take over the men's cross country team effectively merging all of Tennessee's track & field and cross country programs. In May 2014, it was announced by Athletic Director Dave Hart that Director of Track and Field/Cross Country JJ Clark would not be retained. Later, in June 2014, it was announced that Beth Alford-Sullivan would be the next Director of Track and Field/Cross Country at the University of Tennessee. This hire made her the first female SEC coach of any men's team. In May 2022, Alford-Sullivan was fired, and former Notre Dame coach Sean Carlson was hired to lead the men's and women's cross country teams and the distance runners. In Carlson's first year as head coach, he led them to their best finish (2nd) at the SEC Championships since 1999, their first NCAA South Regional title since 2002 (where they outperformed SEC Champion Alabama by 34 points), and returned the Vols to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2005, where they finished 20th.

Team history

The

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegi ...

program began competing in 1924. It was not until 1962 that the team gained its first coach, Chuck Rohe. Under his guidance the Vols reached new heights winning multiple SEC regular season and tournament championships. Under his guidance the Vols reached their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1963 where they finished 5th, he would then lead the team to four more NCAA appearances until he left the team in 1968. The team found more success with the hire of

Stan Huntsman Stanley Houser Huntsman (March 20, 1932 – November 23, 2016) was an American track and field (athletics) coach. He was a men's assistant coach during the 1976 Summer Olympics and the men's head coach of the American team of the 1988 Summer Olymp ...

who led UT to many trips to the NCAA Tournament and won the Volunteers their first and only national title. From 1962-2009 the team has amassed a 201-38-1 record in team dual meets earning them a .840 winning percentage.

Home courses

The Lambert Acres Golf Club was previously the site of home cross country meets for the Volunteers from 1998-2013. The course still serves as a 27-hole golf course, and is nestled in the foothills of the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...

and boasts 9,525 yards. Throughout its run, the course hosted the Tennessee Invitational 10 times, the NCAA South Regional in 2002, 2006 and 2008, and Southeastern Conference Championship in 1998. In 2014, the Vols moved much closer to home with the opening of the new Cherokee Farm Cross Country Course on Alcoa highway across the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

from the main UT campus. The course served as the practice venue for the team in 2014 and 2015, before finally serving in competition for the 2016 season. The course has two loops, one that is 2k and the other is 1k. The course was designed specifically for viewers to use the small loop, where it is ensured that runners have to pass the same point at least three times in a race.

Year-by-Year results

:''*Through November 11, 2022.'' :''*Note: records from 1924-1961 are inaccurate'' : Sources Note: In 2020, due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

, the cross country season was shortened, and NCAA regionals were not held, as teams advanced straight to the championships.

All-Americans

Tennessee has a total of 17 men's cross country All-Americans *Ron Addison, 1976 *Jamie Barnes, 1991 *Doug Brown, 1972, 1973 *Tony Cosey, 1994, 1995 *Rick Cummins, 1988 *Pat Davey, 1978 *Doug Ellington, 1998 *Stewart Ellington, 1994 *Alf Holmberg, 1951 *David Krafsur, 1985 *Glenn Morgan, 1989, 1990 *Peter Okwera, 2012 *Rickey Pittman, 1981 *Bob Redington, 1965 *Zach Sabatino, 2005 *Doug Tolson, 1983, 1984 *George Watts, 1977 * Todd Williams, 1988, 1989, 1990

References

External links

* {{Southeastern Conference navbox

Men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...