The Southeastern Conference today announced the schedule for its annual football media days, which will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, July 16-19.
A more detailed daily schedule with full television information, rotational breakdown and student-athletes attending will be available later this summer.
During the four-day SEC Media Days event, the Hall of Fame will be home to the coaches’ primary press conferences and serve as the live broadcast headquarters for both ESPN and the SEC Network. The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center, which is connected to the Hall of Fame, is the host hotel for the event and will house Radio Row and other media interviews and activities.
As part of the week’s activities, participating media cast their votes to predict the SEC champion and order of finish for the coming season. Only six times in the last 25 seasons has the SEC Media Days predicted champion proceeded to win the SEC Championship, two of which have occurred in the last four years.
The 2018 event will mark the first time SEC Media Days will be held outside the Birmingham, Alabama, area since 1985.
2018 SEC FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS SCHEDULE
MONDAY, July 16
Kentucky – Mark Stoops
LSU – Ed Orgeron
Texas A&M – Jimbo Fisher
TUESDAY, July 17
Arkansas – Chad Morris
Florida – Dan Mullen
Georgia – Kirby Smart
Ole Miss – Matt Luke
WEDNESDAY, July 18
Alabama – Nick Saban
Mississippi State – Joe Moorhead
Missouri – Barry Odom Tennessee – Jeremy Pruitt
THURSDAY, July 19
Auburn – Gus Malzahn
South Carolina – Will Muschamp
Vanderbilt – Derek Mason
Dwight Yoakam will curate a new channel on SiriusXM, Dwight Yoakam & The Bakersfield Beat, which will feature music from his career as well his musical friends and heroes, including Buck Owens, The Byrds, The Blasters, Eagles and more.
Dwight’s new channel will launch this spring, with a special preview airing Feb. 23–26 on SiriusXM’s channel 58.
Other country artists who have curated channels on SiriusXM include Garth Brooks (The Garth Channel), Willie Nelson (Willie’s Roadhouse) and Kenny Chesney (No Shoes Radio).
After topping the charts this week with the lead single, “Legend,” from her sophomore album, Unapologetically, Kelsea Ballerini announced her next single will be “I Hate Love Songs.”
Co-penned by Kelsea, Shane McAnally and Trevor Rosen, the tongue-and-cheek ode to modern-day romance will impact country radio on March 12.
“I will never forget introducing ‘I Hate Love Songs’ at the Grand Ole Opry before my record was even out, and just the overwhelming feeling of magic,” said Kelsea. “I’d never experienced anything like that before with a song. It’s sweet and sassy and I hope you love it as much as I do.”
Kelsea has release five singles over the course of her career, four of which have reached No. 1.
In the lead-up to the premiere of Season 14 of The Voice on Feb. 26, the coaches—Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and Alicia Keys—paired off to perform a couple of vintage Vegas tunes in a new digital elusive.
Blake and Adam tackled Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” while Kelly and Alicia put their pipes on “Feeling Good,” a tune recorded by a number of artists, including Nina Simone, Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Buble and more.
The new season of The Voice premieres on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Watch the Blake, Adam, Kelly and Alicia perform below.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Grant Williams scored 23 points and No. 19 Tennessee outlasted Florida at home on Wednesday night in Thompson-Boling Arena, 62-57.
Williams scored 11 of the Vols’ last 18 points, while Tennessee as a team made eight of its last 11 field-goal attempts s to edge out the Gators. Tennessee (20-7, 10-5 SEC) led by as many as 10 points on two separate occasions in the second half, but Florida fought back each time.
With the Vols leading 37-36 midway through the second half, Tennessee and Florida exchanged baskets before a Jordan Bowden breakaway dunk sparked a 15-6 Tennessee run to put the Big Orange in front by 10 for a second time in the half, 52-42.
After starting the game 2-for-18 from 3-point range, Florida then proceeded to made three of its next four from long distance to stay on pace, but the Gators never got closer than three points for the rest of the game.
Bowden made three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the game for Tennessee.
In addition to Williams’ 23 points, junior Admiral Schofield scored 16 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for the Vols.
Jalen Hudson had 13 points, while Chris Chiozza and Keith Stone had 11 for Florida (17-11, 8-7 SEC).
Despite shooting just 38 percent from the field in the first half, Tennessee took a 27-18 lead into the break.
The Vols held Florida to its lowest first half scoring output of the season, as the Gators’ 18 points at the break were 11 fewer than their previous low of 29. Florida’s 26.9 percent (7-for-26) shooting performance was also its lowest percentage in any first half this season.
To open the game, Tennessee held Florida scoreless for the first 4:35, and to close out the first half the Gators made just one of their final 10 shots. Williams paced the Vols in the opening period with 10 points, while no Florida player scored more than four.
UP NEXT: UT has back-to-back road games against Ole Miss (Saturday) and Mississippi State (Feb. 27) before returning home for a rematch with Georgia to conclude the regular season. Saturday’s game in Oxford will tip at 1 p.m. ET and will be televised on SEC Network.
VOLS BREACH 20 WINS: With the win over Florida, Tennessee earned its 25th 20-win season in program history and first since 2013-14, when the Vols finished with 24 victories and advanced to their seventh Sweet Sixteen. This is the first time UT has posted 20 regular-seasonvictories since 2013-14 (20).
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE: During the first half of the game on Wednesday night, UT’s defense held the Gators to season lows in points (18) and field-goal percentage (.269). Florida’s previous lows were 29 points vs. Gonzaga (11/24/17) and 27.6 percent shooting against New Hampshire (11/19/17).
FINISHING DOWN THE STRETCH: Over the final 10 minutes of play, the Volunteers shot 8-of-11 from the field to hold off Florida’s late comeback attempt. During the previous 30 minutes of action, UT was just 15-of-42 shooting (35.7 percent) from the floor.
BIGS DOMINATE ON OFFENSE:Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams fueled Tennessee’s offense all night, combining for 39 of UT’s 62 points (63 percent) in the matchup. Williams, who finished with game-high 23 points, scored 11 of UT’s final 18 points. Schofield chipped in 16 points.
Chris Weinke – Vols RB Coach / Credit: UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt announced the hiring of Chris Weinke as the Vols’ running backs coach on Wednesday.
A former NFL assistant coach and player and the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner, Weinke brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Tennessee coaching staff.
He comes to Rocky Top after working as an offensive analyst at Alabama in 2017, helping lead the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Before his time in Tuscaloosa, Weinke was the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams for two seasons and spent five years as the program director at IMG Academy, where he worked with some of the nation’s top high school football players and trained several NFL players, including Cam Newton and Russell Wilson. He compiled a 19-2 record as the head coach and offensive coordinator of IMG’s high school program in 2013 and 2014.
He spent seven years in the NFL as a quarterback for the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, following a standout collegiate career where he set numerous Florida State records and led the Seminoles to the 1999 National Championship.
“I’m excited to have Chris Weinke on our staff to coach running backs,” Pruitt said. “He has played the game at the highest level and what he has accomplished on the field speaks for itself. He is also an outstanding coach and teacher of the game, coaching in the NFL, in college this past season and at the high school level. He has a great eye for talent and knows the game on the offensive side of the ball as well as anybody I’ve been around. He will be a great fit for our Tennessee program.”
Weinke worked on the Alabama staff with Pruitt in 2017, and was instrumental in the Crimson Tide’s offensive success. Alabama finished No. 15 in the nation in scoring (37.1 points per game) and No. 13 in rushing (250.6 yards per game).
During his time with the Rams, Weinke mentored quarterbacks Nick Foles, Case Keenum and No. 1 pick Jared Goff. Keenum found success under Weinke’s direction, passing for over 3,000 yards despite starting only 14 games. Weinke also helped Goff, then a 21-year-old rookie, build a foundation for his future success as his first NFL position coach.
Weinke helped launch the IMG Madden Football Academy in 2010 and served as the director through 2014. In addition to his success as a high school coach, he trained several NFL quarterbacks for the NFL Combine and the NFL Draft, including Newton, Wilson, Teddy Bridgewater and Kirk Cousins – many of who continued to work with Weinke in the off-season.
Weinke played for the Panthers from 2001-06 before spending time with the 49ers in 2007. He started 15 games as a rookie in 2001 after being drafted in the fourth round.
The St. Paul, Minn., native is perhaps best known for his remarkable career at Florida State, playing for the legendary Bobby Bowden from 1997-2000. Weinke owns the Seminoles’ career records for passing yards (9,839), completions (650) and touchdown passes (79).
As a senior in 2000, Weinke won the Heisman Trophy, Johnny Unitas Award and the Davey O’Brien Award after leading Florida State to the ACC title, throwing for an FSU-record 4,167 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Weinke led the Noles to a 12-0 mark and the BCS National Championship as a junior in 1999.
He spent six years in minor league baseball after being selected in the second round of the 1990 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays following an outstanding prep career at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul in both football and baseball. He was named a 1989 Parade Magazine All-American and USA Today First Team All-American in football.
Weinke has an 11-year-old son, Carter, and a 9-year-old daughter, Mallory.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 15/14 Tennessee (21-6, 9-5 SEC) makes its last road trip of the regular season, traveling to Gainesville to face Florida (11-16, 3-11 SEC) on Thursday at 7:02 p.m. ET.
This will mark the 55th meeting between these schools in women’s basketball, with UT holding a 50-4 series advantage, including 20-2 in Gainesville. The Lady Vols and Gators also played in Tennessee’s 28th game last season as well, with the Big Orange coming away with a 74-70 victory in Knoxville on Feb. 23.
Tennessee enters the game having lost its last two contests, while Florida comes into the match-up on the heels of a victory that halted a six-game losing skid. UT fell at #13/13 Missouri on Sunday, 77-73, after a 72-63 setback vs. Alabama last Thursday night in Knoxville.
After falling in six consecutive games vs. ranked teams (MSU, UGA, MU, MSU, USC and A&M), UF took care of unranked Vanderbilt at home, 88-71, on Sunday to end the losing streak.
BROADCAST INFO.
Kyle Crooks (play-by-play) and Brittany Davis (analyst) will describe the action for the UT-Florida online broadcast on SECN+.
Mickey Dearstone is handling the call for IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcasts for the 19th season. A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
UT’S UPCOMING SCHEDULE
UT closes out the regular-season schedule on Sunday with #7/6 South Carolina on Lady Vol Senior Day. Tip-off has been set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The SEC Tournament in Nashville begins on Weds., Feb. 28 and runs through Sun., March 4.
Selection Monday for the NCAA Women’s Tournament is on March 12 (7 p.m., ESPN).
THIRD NCAA REVEAL HAS UT AT NO. 12
The NCAA Committee’s third and final reveal of tournament seeding on Feb. 19 has UT projected for a No. 12 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and the No. 3 seed in the Lexington Regional.
The other top-four seeds in Lexington are No. 1 Louisville, No. 2 Baylor and No. 4 Ohio State.
The top 16 seeds get to host first and second round games, and the SEC has five schools (MSU, USC, MU, UT, UGA) in that mix.
UT was selected as the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA’s first of three regular season top-16 ranking announcements on Jan. 17 and fell to No. 11 when the second announcement came out on Feb. 1.
RPI WATCH / STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Below are 15 teams (17 games when UT meets South Carolina for the second time) on UT’s schedule this season that are ranked in the top 100.
2. Notre Dame (L), 3. Mississippi State (L), 11. Texas (W), 12. Missouri (L), 15. Stanford (W), 17. South Carolina (W), 21. Texas A&M (L & W), 26. LSU (L), 28. Georgia (W), 30. Marquette (W), 55. Oklahoma State (W), 66. South Dakota (W), 70. James Madison (W), 82. Alabama, 95. Kentucky (W).
Based on cumulative opposition (past and future opponents), Tennessee is No. 10 this week in the NCAA Toughest Schedule Report.
THE LATEST ON TENNESSEE
Holly Warlick enters the Florida contest seeking her 150th career win.
Mercedes Russell needs a double-double to give her 14 for the season and tie for the most by a Lady Vol in a senior season. Glory Johnson, Lisa Harrison and Shelia Collins had 14 in their finals seasons at Tennessee.
The next double-double by Russell would be the 44th of her career, leaving her one shy of tying Candace Parker (45) for second all-time by a Lady Vol. Chamique Holdsclaw is first with 57.
Three different Lady Vol rookies have been named SEC Freshman of the Week. Rennia Davis(Jacksonville, Fla/Ribault) has earned the honor twice (most recently on Feb. 12), while Evina Westbrook and Anastasia Hayes have once.
Mercedes Russell surpassed the 1,000-rebound mark vs. Georgia and the 1,500-point mark against Alabama, becoming only the sixth Lady Vol to reach 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds. The others in that club are Chamique Holdsclaw, Glory Johnson, Bashaara Graves, Sheila Frost and Tamika Catchings.
UT has led 23 of 27 games this season at the half except for four. UT trailed Mississippi State by 13, Missouri by six and Alabama by five, and was tied vs. Auburn.
UT’s roster features seven players 6-2 or taller, tying the 2004-05 team as the second tallest in Lady Vol history behind the 2014-15 unit that boasted eight.
UT is 18-0 when leading with 5:00 left in the game, 2-0 when tied and 1-6 when trailing.
The Lady Vols have allowed seven opponents to score more than 72 points (Marquette – 99, Texas – 75, Vandy – 73, A&M – 79, Notre Dame – 84, Arkansas – 85, Missouri – 77) and have allowed only nine teams to shoot better than 41 percent from the field (Missouri, .556; Vanderbilt in Knoxville, .491; Texas A&M in Knoxville, .484; Notre Dame, .478; Arkansas, .477; Vanderbilt, .469; Marquette, .437; Miss. State, .418; Alabama, .426).
When UT has more fouls than its opponent, the Lady Vols are 2-4, losing to Texas A&M, Notre Dame, LSU and Missouri, and beating Marquette in OT and winning by 14 at Kentucky.
UT-FLORIDA SERIES NOTES
Tennessee holds a 50-4 all-time record vs. Florida, dating back to Feb. 8, 1980, winning 13 of the past 14 meetings
Holly Warlick‘s squad is 6-1 vs. Florida during her tenure, including 3-0 away, 2-1 at home and 1-0 in SEC Tournament action.
UT is 20-2 all-time in games played in Gainesville, winning the past five trips there and in 11 of the past 12 visits, including 84-75 on Jan. 26, 2017.
The last Lady Vol loss in Gainesville came on Feb. 8, 2009, as #11/13 Florida topped #12/17 Tennessee by a 66-57 count.
UT is 22-2 vs. UF in games played in Knoxville, 8-0 at neutral sites and 3-1 in overtime contests vs Florida, including 3-0 in Gainesville in those extra-frame affairs.
The Lady Vols had won 11 in a row in the series until the Gators got the victory in Knoxville on Jan. 7, 2016, 74-66.
Bashaara Graves’ free throw with 12.5 seconds remaining in regulation sent the 2013 game in Gainesville into overtime and helped give Holly Warlick a win in her first game as head coach in the series, 78-75.
UT’s team record for most free throws made in a game (40-of-46) came at Florida on Feb. 3, 2005.
Jaime Nared posted points/rebounds efforts of 10/7 as a freshman, 11/6 as a sophomore and 16/7 and 11/6 as a junior vs. the Gators.
Mercedes Russell posted 14/5 and 17/10 performances vs. UF a year ago.
LAST MEETING BETWEEN UT AND UF
A late run by Tennessee helped give the Lady Vols a 74-70 victory over the Florida Gators on Senior Night at Thompson-Boling Arena on Feb. 23, 2017.
Mercedes Russell led UT’s offense, getting her 16th double-double of the season, with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Diamond DeShields just missed a triple-double, posting 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high nine assists.
UT got a late push of momentum in the fourth quarter to come back from a seven-point deficit. Over the last 2:57 in the contest, Tennessee (18-10, 9-6 SEC) went on a 13-2 run, starting with a layup by Alexa Middleton. She brought energy to the offense in the second half, finishing with 15 points and converting a trio of 3-pointers.
A pair of free throws by senior Schaquilla Nunn sealed the victory for the Lady Vols with two seconds remaining to put the game out of reach. UT caught fire from the charity stripe in the fourth period, converting on 12 of 16 shots from the line.
Ronni Williams kept Florida (13-15, 4-11 SEC) alive, scoring 22 points and grabbing nine rebounds throughout the competition. The Gators finished on a 1-of-9 shooting slump to end the game.
LAST TIME IN GAINESVILLE
Diamond DeShields posted an all-around performance to lead Tennessee to an 84-75 win over Florida at Exactech Arena in Gainesville on Jan. 26, 2017.
DeShields finished with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jaime Nared had another strong performance, scoring 16 points and grabbing seven boards. Mercedes Russell and Alexa Middleton also got into double digits, totaling 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Tennessee (13-7, 4-3 SEC) picked up its second conference road win of the season with the wire-to-wire victory over Florida (10-10, 1-6 SEC).
Ronni Williams led the charge for the Gators, finishing with 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Haley Lorenzen chipped in 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks on the night.
MORE ABOUT THE GATORS
Florida was picked to finish 12th by the media and 13th by the coaches in the SEC preseason polls.
The Gators currently stand in 11th place.
UF returned four starters and three other letterwinners from a squad that finished 15-16 overall, 5-11 in the SEC and tied for 11th in the league standings.
After last season, Florida replaced long-time head coach Amanda Butler with Belmont’s Cameron Newbauer.
Newbauer directed his teams to two NCAA appearances and a WNIT berth during his four seasons in Music City.
Gators graduate assistant Sarah Wilkinson earned her bachelor’s degree from UT and served as a manager on Holly Warlick‘s staff.
GATORS LAST TIME OUT (UF 88, VU 71)
Dyandria Anderson, Paulina Hersler and Haley Lorenzen guided the Gators to an 88-71 victory on Senior Day against Vanderbilt at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Sunday afternoon.
The senior trio, along with injured Gabby Seiler, was recognized in a pregame ceremony and then went to work on the court, scoring Florida’s first nine points en route to combining for 50 of the Gators’ total offensive output. Lorenzen finished with 18 points, and Hersler and Anderson both with 16.
Junior Funda Nakkasoglu took game scoring honors with 25 points, as she continued her torrid pace from beyond the arc, knocking down 7-of-13 as Florida hit 12-of-30 overall – the team’s 11th game this season with double-digit treys.
TENN. LAST TIME OUT (MU 77, UT 73)
No. 11/11 Tennessee dropped a hard-fought thriller at No. 13/13 Missouri Sunday, falling to the Tigers by a score of 77-73 in front of a record crowd of 11,092 at Mizzou Arena.
Senior Jaime Nared led the Lady Vols (21-6, 9-5 SEC) with 25 points, while Mercedes Russell added 10 points and nine rebounds.
UT overcame a 13-point second-quarter deficit and worked the game into a 62-62 tie with 5:18 remaining. However, the Tigers (22-5, 10-4 SEC) used clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to pull ahead late, including two from Sophie Cunningham with one second remaining that put them ahead by four. Cunningham netted 32 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead Missouri.
