Phillip Fulmer assumed the role of director of athletics at the University of Tennessee on Dec. 1, 2017, after serving as special advisor to University of Tennessee President Joe DiPietro for community, athletics and university relations since June of 2017. A former Tennessee football co-captain who went on to lead the Volunteers to a football national championship and earn first-ballot induction into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame, Fulmer has faithfully served the University of Tennessee for over 40 years.
Fulmer’s 17 years at the helm of the Volunteers program produced a record of 152 wins and 52 losses. At the conclusion of his final season, no active coach with at least a decade in Division I-A had a better winning percentage (.744). Under his tutelage, the Volunteers were the first to win the Bowl Championship Series National Championship in 1998 and made five appearances in the SEC Championship game, winning it in 1997 and 1998. He was named SEC Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year in 1998.
Fulmer built his programs by challenging and motivating his teams to victories when the pressure was highest. Among his many accolades: Nine Fulmer-coached squads eclipsed the 10-win mark. Eighteen of Fulmer’s Vols earned first-team All-America honors, 70 Vols garnered first-team All-SEC acclaim and he produced 17 first-round NFL draft selections and had a total of 91 players selected overall. Under Fulmer, the Vols were ranked in the national polls at game time for 169 of his 204 games as head coach. Tennessee posted a 44-37 record against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll during his tenure.
Fulmer is one of only three coaches to produce multiple winners of the Draddy Award (now known as the William V. Campbell Trophy), which recognizes the nation’s top academic and athletic student-athlete by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. His induction into the 2012 National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot was a rare accomplishment, signifying immense respect from his peers. He previously was inducted to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He was welcomed into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.
