Vols AD says no plans to resume Memphis football series
Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer said Tuesday the door was open to restoring the football series with Memphis but as of now, there are no plans to add Memphis to the schedule.
Speaking at the Big Orange Caravan at Agriculture International, Fulmer noted that the Tigers are a far different program than when he faced them eight times during his 17 years as Vols head coach.
“They’re a good team, a ranked team and playing well from what I saw,” Fulmer said, “They’ve done quite well and it makes sense to have the conversation.”
A Memphis athletic department spokesman said Tuesday that there have been no conversations with Tennessee to resume the series, which has been dormant since 2010.
Head coach Jeremy Pruitt echoed that line of thought when he said he was not aware of any discussions to restore the series. He also praised Memphis for their improvement the last few years.
“They’ve done a fantastic job here the last couple coaches. I don’t make the schedules, I just coach the teams we’re going to play on Saturdays,” Pruitt said.
Tennessee defeated Memphis 50-14 in that 2010 meeting and is 22-1 all-time against Memphis. The lone defeat came in 1996 when the Tigers upset the thenNo. 6 ranked Vols coached by Fulmer and quarterbacked by Peyton Manning.
The eight year gap since the teams have played is the longest since the teams first met in 1968 and it will extend at least a few more years because Memphis has finalized its nonconference schedule through 2022.
Memphis does have an opening for a nonconference game in 2023 but since the Tigers are planning to host Missouri, it seems unlikely they would reach out to play two SEC schools in the same year.
Fulmer went 7-1 against Memphis, the lone loss coming in 1996 when the Tigers upset the then-No. 6 ranked Vols, who had Peyton Manning in his junior season. He did stress that during his coaching tenure, Memphis was a priority in recruiting and he expected that would continue.
“We have a lot of not just athletes there but a lot of students, a lot of alumni, the med schools – there’s so many reasons to make this important to Tennessee,” Fulmer said, “We thought when I was coaching, it was key for our success to come to Memphis and do well.”
One of the Vols’ recent Memphisarea recruits is Cordova alum Jerome Carvin. Pruitt said that Carvin showed great improvement during spring practice while seeing time at both offensive tackle and guard.
“I see a guy who works really hard. He’s got a great work ethic,” Pruitt said. “He’s a really good competitor and has some power in his body.”