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The Tennessee athletic department will have some tricky decisions to make for the upcoming year
AtoZ Sports
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6/9/2025
Lucas Panzica discusses how the Tennessee Volunteers athletic department will need to make some tricky decisions when allocating funds after a successful year of sports
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Sports
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00:00
The 2024-25 sports year for the University of Tennessee is officially over, and it was one of
00:06
the absolute best in the history of Tennessee's athletic department. But that comes at a very
00:11
interesting time with the current state of college athletics. We'll explain next.
00:18
Hey, Lucas Panzeke here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z Sports. So Tennessee baseball season
00:24
officially came to an end on Sunday with an 11-4 loss to Arkansas in the Fayetteville
00:29
Super Regional. The Vols' national title defense is over as they were one of the 16 teams left
00:36
standing, swept by Arkansas in the Fayetteville Super Regional as Arkansas heads to Omaha and
00:41
the Vols head home. And that brings to an end the 2024-25 academic sports year, so to speak,
00:49
for the Tennessee Volunteers. And to be quite honest, it was one of the absolute best in terms
00:55
of that balance across the board with the athletics department that we have ever seen
01:00
at the University of Tennessee. Considering the major sports here, going back to the fall,
01:05
of course, Josh Heupel leading Tennessee to a 10-win season in the first ever 12-team college
01:11
football playoff. Rick Barnes leading Tennessee men's basketball to yet another Elite Eight
01:16
appearance. Kim Caldwell in her first year in charge of Tennessee women's basketball,
01:21
making it to the Sweet 16. And then on the diamond, both men's and women's Tennessee softball
01:26
got to the Women's College World Series for the ninth time in program history and made it all the
01:31
way to the national semifinal, falling to eventual national champions Texas in the final four. And
01:37
then, of course, Tennessee baseball did end up hosting a regional in Knoxville, won that regional,
01:42
but lost, like we said, to Arkansas, losing games one and two in the Fayetteville Super Regional.
01:48
So things are good right now on Rocky Top. Just about every major sport is in a very good place.
01:54
That comes at a very interesting time because finally, the long-anticipated house settlement
02:00
approval has finally happened from Judge Claudia Wilkin, which means officially starting on July 1st,
02:07
revenue sharing is coming to college athletics. As you've probably heard a million times by now,
02:13
that means that universities will have the right to opt in and spend up to about $20 million
02:20
directly to its own student athletes. This does not mean that NIL is going away. Certain parameters
02:26
around NIL will be shifted around, but largely universities can pay players directly. Now,
02:32
how Tennessee goes about divvying up those funds across the board for its multiple successful
02:39
sports on campus, that's yet to be seen. And it's a tricky proposition for Danny White and Tennessee
02:46
athletics. Now, the reality is the Vols will likely do it based on revenue, which of course would mean
02:51
football gets the largest percentage of the funds from revenue sharing. But as baseball continues to
02:58
improve, Tony Vitello is not going anywhere. And Tennessee baseball is a powerhouse. They might
03:03
have fallen short of Omaha this year, but they're the defending national champs. And no other program
03:07
has gone five straight years to make a super regional. And recruiting continues to be at an all-time
03:13
high for this program under Tony V. Softball is not going anywhere. Karen Weakley has established
03:18
one of the most consistent programs in all of college softball. Rick Barnes does not look like he's
03:24
anywhere close to retiring for Tennessee men's basketball. Kim Caldwell is just getting started.
03:29
And as we know, football is the engine that drives the train. And Josh Heupel is looking to get Tennessee
03:34
back to those championship heights. So every sport right now is full steam ahead. And revenue may be the
03:41
thing that ultimately divvies up revenue sharing in terms of which sport gets what. But Tennessee
03:49
athletics is as good as it has ever been. But that comes at the most confusing time that we have ever
03:54
been in in the history of college athletics.
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