Home Care In Summit, UT

Tennessee continues to build momentum in its innovation economy, and this week, leaders from industry, education, government and non-profits convened in Nashville to talk about the challenges and opportunities ahead, including how other communities could learn from the state’s success.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Chancellor Donde Plowman and Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier joined Council on Competitiveness President Deborah Wince-Smith to host a two-day conversation on the Vanderbilt campus focused on Tennessee’s role in the future of innovation ecosystems around mobility, energy, and manufacturing.

“We know Tennessee has a great story to tell about how to advance innovation and build a knowledge-based economy by leaning into our strengths,” Plowman said. “Bringing smart and creative leaders together in one place to talk about how to generate new ideas and strengthen collaboration will help us continue to build on that momentum.”

Topics covered during the event included how to meet the workforce needs of evolving industries, spur new ideas through public-private partnerships, build the collaborative entrepreneurial ecosystem where start-ups thrive, and invest in infrastructure that attracts and retains businesses.

Speakers and panelists included leaders from Nissan, Volkswagen, Bridgestone, Oracle, Google, Tennessee Valley Authority, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and more. Leaders emphasized the desire to be in an ecosystem with other forward-thinking organizations and the value of collaboration with higher education institutions across both research and development and workforce development.

U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty and Governor Bill Lee also delivered keynote remarks on Thursday and Friday.

Lee has been an advocate for advancing nuclear energy in Tennessee, including appointing a new advisory council and committing a $50 million fund to invest in developing a nuclear energy ecosystem in the state.

UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair for Computational Engineering, Brian Wirth, pointed to that commitment in his presentation on the emerging nuclear fusion technology.

“I feel so fortunate to be a Volunteer in a state that so strongly supports this innovative vision for the future,” he said. “We have the potential for fusion to provide safe, sustainable energy sources for our state. We need more technologies around the reactors, so we must innovate.”

The event was the first in a series of regional summits scheduled in strategic cities across the country in partnership with the Council on Competitiveness, a national coalition focused on positioning the U.S. economy to compete globally.

The Council on Competitiveness is a national nonprofit that has spent the last 30 years advocating for national productivity and inclusive prosperity. By bridging sectors, it aims to foster entrepreneurship and drive the commercialization of innovative ideas to enhance America’s competitiveness in the global economy.

—

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jennifer Johnson (865-974-4448, [email protected])

When Tennessee takes the field against UConn this Saturday, it will be sporting a slight difference to its typical uniform.

As the team did last year against UT Martin, the Vols will wear 'Summitt Blue' accessories along with their home orange jerseys.

This a clear nod to the Lady Vols and Pat Summitt for the homecoming clash.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Along with the uniforms, Tennessee Athletics and The University of Tennessee Medical Center have teamed up to honor Summitt, as well. A special commemorative cup will be available for purchase at concessions stands benefitting Alzheimer's research.

Advertisement

With November marking Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, a dollar from every sale will go directly to support Alzheimer's research at The University of Tennessee Medical Center.

Head coach Josh Heupel addressed the cause at his Monday press conference.

"November is also Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and we have a unique opportunity to honor the legacy of Pat Summitt," said Heupel. "We’ll be doing that at the game with our uniform, but we’ll also be doing that with a commemorative cup that everyone can purchase. All of that will go to UT Medical’s research on Alzheimer’s.”

Kick-off against the Huskies is set for 12 p.m. ET on Saturday in Neyland Stadium.

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens, @Hunter_DeNote.

–––––

For The Win

A lot of folks are paying attention to Tennessee football this week, and for good reason. Last weekend, the Vols annoyed Nick Saban on their way to an upset win over Alabama, a celebration 16 years in the making that involved smoking cigars, scaring away referees and tearing down goalposts.

On Saturday, the Vols – newly ranked No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll – hosted UT Martin for their homecoming game. And when the Vols took the field and got the 65-24 win, there was something a little different about Tennessee’s uniforms.

So, some of y’all might be wondering: Why are the Vols wearing blue?

The short answer is that the blue is for both Pat Summitt, the longtime legendary women’s basketball coach for Tennessee, and Title IX as head coach Josh Heupel told the media.

We’ll go a little more in-depth in our explanation than Heupel:

This year is the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the groundbreaking legislation signed into law in 1972 by President Nixon that barred educational institutions from discriminating based on gender. It aimed to level the playing field for women and to equalize opportunities. Simply put: It sparked an athletic revolution and opened doors for women in sports.

A few years before Title IX, Joan Cronan was the women’s basketball coach at Tennessee. Before the start of the 1968-69 season, she went shopping for new uniforms. But no company was making women’s basketball uniforms in Tennessee’s signature orange. So, Cronan opted for “Columbia Blue” kits with orange lettering on them. Orange uniforms became available later on, but that blue stuck with the women’s basketball team.

Pat Head (Summitt) was hired as the Vols’ women’s hoops coach in 1974 and transformed the program into a national powerhouse brand, winning 16 SEC titles and eight national championships. The basketball hall of famer died in 2016 at the age of 64 after a fight with Alzheimer’s disease.

To honor Title IX and Summitt – the most important woman in the history of Tennessee athletics – the Vols renamed that iconic color as “Summitt Blue” and incorporated it into uniforms for several of its teams this season, including football.

Summitt Blue even has its own color codes:

The volleyball, soccer and softball teams at Tennessee are incorporating Summitt Blue into their uniforms this year too.

It’s a pretty good time to be a fan of Tennessee right now. Not only are the Vols undefeated in football, but Kellie Harper – who played for Summitt – has the Vols’ women’s basketball team back in the national conversation and garnering a lot of preseason hype. Tennessee is fifth in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll for women’s basketball that was released last week. Last season, Harper’s squad won 25 games and made the Sweet 16.

Harper narrated the Tennessee hype video for this week for the game against UT Martin, which is Summitt’s alma mater.

In conjunction with the 50^th anniversary of Title IX, Tennessee Athletics' recently updated brand standards has renamed the blue accent color historically associated with the Lady Vols "Summitt Blue."

Additionally, four teams will debut the Summitt Blue uniforms during the upcoming 2022-23 academic year – a collection dubbed the "Summitt Legacy" series. This fall, the Tennessee soccer and volleyball teams will be the first to compete in the new Summitt Blue jerseys.

The Lady Vols basketball team will follow with a full Summitt Blue uniform this winter, and the softball squad's jersey rotation also will feature a Summitt Blue option this spring.

Summitt Blue stands alongside "Smokey Grey" and "Dark Mode" (formerly Anthracite) as the three accent colors on Tennessee Athletics' official color palette.

"Tennessee's history as a worldwide leader in women's athletics, along with the Lady Vols' unique legacy of excellence are traditions we are proud to celebrate," Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. "As some of our teams recently saw their new Summitt Blue uniforms for the first time, they reacted with a joy and enthusiasm that I hope will extend to our fans and proud alumni."

The soccer and volleyball Summitt Blue jerseys will soon be unveiled on those teams' official social media channels. Fans are encouraged to follow @Vol_Soccer and @Vol_VBall for the latest updates.

The first version of the Lady Vols' blue accent color appeared in 1968 when Joan Cronan set out to obtain jerseys for the women's basketball team. At the time, no company offered an orange uniform, so Cronan opted for Columbia blue uniforms with orange lettering when the Lady Vols played at home.

Later, when orange uniforms became available, Tennessee switched to the traditional orange jerseys but a touch of Summitt Blue has remained.

Blue also has appeared on Tennessee men's uniforms in the past, as the men's basketball program used a shade of blue as an accent color on its jerseys during the head coaching tenure of Ray Mears in the 1960s.

Summitt Blue Color Codes Pantone: 2171 C CMYK: 75/24/0/0 RGB: 72/159/223 HEX: #489FDF

Holly Warlick's bio tells us she became head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols after the 2011-12 basketball season. But her head-coaching career really began a season earlier.

She just didn't get credit for it.

Pat Summitt announced before the 2011-12 season that she was suffering from early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type. Nonetheless, she elected to coach one more season.

But in that last season, she was no longer the legendary coach who led Tennessee to eight national championships. The disease wouldn't let her be that coach.

As Summitt dealt with the disease and continued to coach, assistant coach Warlick had to handle many of the head-coaching responsibilities. That was difficult enough. But the difficulty was exacerbated by Summitt's condition.

She wasn't just Warlick's boss and former coach. She was her longtime friend. And Warlick had to watch Summitt's daily struggle while taking on a coaching challenge unlike any she had ever had.

Dave Hart, UT's athletics director at the time, greatly appreciated how Warlick managed the situation and team. When Summitt announced her retirement after the season, he chose Warlick as Summitt's replacement. He made the right decision.

At that point, Summitt hadn't lost her awareness. On some days, she even wondered if she should continue coaching.

UT named her head coach emeritus and gave her a one-year contract, It also made Warlick — her assistant and friend — the head coach. That made for the smoothest of transitions.

Seven years later, it was time for another transition. Warlick is out as Tennessee's coach.

That couldn't have been an easy decision for UT athletics director Phillip Fulmer. Warlick was an All-America point guard and a longtime assistant coach at Tennessee. And she won plenty of games as a head coach.

She won 86 games in her first three seasons. She went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in three of her first four seasons. In her seven seasons she averaged 24.6 victories.

But the program has been getting worse, not better, on her watch.

Lady Vols coaching search: 15 names to watch

In 2018, Oregon State ended Tennessee 57-game, home-court winning streak in the NCAA Tournament. This season, UT lost a first-round NCAA Tournament game to UCLA. With a 19-13 record, the Lady Vols failed to win 20 games for the first time in 42 years.

They also became the first team in school history to lose to Vanderbilt on UT's home court. And Vanderbilt was the worst team in the SEC.

Tennessee frequently failed to pass the eye test.

Sometimes, the Lady Vols didn't play hard. Other times, they didn't play smart. They sometimes overcame those shortcomings with talent, but not always.

Most fans didn't expect the program to reach the heights it did under Summitt. But they expected more than what Warlick's teams gave them.

A passionate fan base wanted to see a passionate team. Too often, it didn't. Instead, it saw teams chock full of former high school All-Americans who failed to reach their potential.

Understandably, many Lady Vols fans became apathetic. Their apathy was reflected in the declining attendance.

So a change had to be made. Tennessee fans can only hope it will be a change for the better.

The program still has tremendous potential. And the best way to reach that potential is to hire one of the best coaches in the country.

Summitt's program deserves that.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.