All-SEC candidate makes meaningful impact off the court

John Fulkerson was named to the 2020 SEC Community Service Team for men’s basketball, the league announced Thursday.

A redshirt junior from Kingsport, Tennessee, Fulkerson has been one of the nation’s most efficient offensive performers this season. He ranks second in the SEC and 11th nationally with a .616 field-goal percentage.

A candidate for All-SEC honors, Fulkerson has started every game for the Vols and is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder.

His impact in community outreach efforts has been equally as impressive, and a 24-hour span earlier this week illustrated his commitment to enriching the lives of others.

Fulkerson delivered an historic performance—highlighted by a career-high 27 points—to power Tennessee past sixth-ranked Kentucky Tuesday night at Rupp Arena. The game tipped off at 9:05 p.m. ET, and the Vols didn’t arrive back on the UT campus until after 3 a.m. ET Wednesday morning. Despite the lack of rest, Fulkerson honored a commitment to make a 10 a.m. ET appearance at an area elementary school on Wednesday, where he read to students as part of the Read Across America initiative.

Wednesday’s appearance was the latest in a long line of service activities Fulkerson has participated in. He has been very active with Big Buddies Tennessee, which pairs a UT student with an individual who has an intellectual disability to form meaningful, one-on-one friendships. Fulkerson most recently took part in a Big Buddies dance in late February.

In December, Fulkerson spent an afternoon engaging with local children in conjunction with the opening of Knoxville’s Emerald Youth Haslam-Sansom Ministry Complex. And in each of the last four summers, he has joined his Vol teammates at the annual Hoops for Hope basketball clinic that benefits the Down Syndrome Awareness Group of East Tennessee.

He has served for multiple years as one of the basketball program’s representatives on UT’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), and he also serves on the SEC Student-Athlete Leadership Council for men’s basketball.

A multi-year VOLScholar, Fulkerson is on track to graduate in May with a degree in Recreation and Sport Management.

This marks the 22nd year for the SEC Community Service Team for men’s and women’s basketball. All 21 league-sponsored sports have had a Community Service Team since 2004, with at-large teams being chosen from 1999-2003. The SEC began the concept with a football Community Service Team in 1994.

-UT Athletics