While the players come and go, Tennessee’s women’s basketball schedule stays the same — brutal.
That’s true even when a lot of players go.
The Lady Vols return only one starter from the 2008 national champion team, but coach Pat Summitt didn’t lighten the load on the road to the 2009 NCAA tournament.
Stanford, Texas, Duke, Virginia, Oklahoma, DePaul, Old Dominion, LSU and Rutgers headline the familiar marquee names on the two-time defending national champion’s 2008-09 schedule released Tuesday.
Fourteen opponents come from last year’s NCAA tournament bracket.
Anjie Bjorklund is the only returning starter and even she was coming off the bench behind Alberta Auguste during the NCAA tournament run.
The roster includes seven freshmen, four sophomores and senior Alex Fuller.
“We’re getting our players ready for conference play and that’s what it’s all about,’’ Associate Head Coach Holly Warlick said Tuesday on the News Sentinel’s Sports Page radio show.
“It’s been a great formula for us in the past and I think it’s something we’ll always continue to do.’’
Besides the usual Who’s Who list, UT’s schedule includes two former Lady Vols bringing teams to Thompson-Boling Arena, where they well be welcomed warmly — until tip-off.
That explains why first-time opponent San Francisco pops up on opening night (Nov. 15). Tanya Haave, a 1980s star and member of the Lady Vols Hall of Fame, is making her head-coaching debut.
Kellie Jolly Harper, point guard during the 1996-98 NCAA three-peat, brings her fifth Western Carolina team to Thompson-Boling Arena on Nov. 25.
Seven of the first eight games (counting two exhibitions) are in Thompson-Boling Arena and the one that’s not is at UT-Chattanooga.
“We want to give ‘em a little confidence before they go out on the road,’’ Warlick said.
One of the home games will be Stanford on Dec. 21, a rematch of UT’s 64-48 victory in the 2008 NCAA tournament title game. The Cardinal was one of two teams to beat Tennessee last season, a 73-69 overtime decision in December.
Duke, DePaul, Louisiana Tech, Virginia and MTSU also come to Knoxville.
Key non-conference road games are at George Washington, Texas, Old Dominion and Rutgers.
The Lady Vols also play Oklahoma in Oklahoma City on ESPN2’s Feb. 2 “Big Monday” package. The other “Big Monday” game is Duke on Feb. 16.
A Dec. 30 road trip to Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., is a first for the program.
The 14-game SEC slate includes two games each against Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Mississippi State. Tennessee plays the other eight league teams once apiece.
The SEC opener is Jan. 8 at home against Kentucky. The Lady Vols travel to LSU — which beat them 78-62 in Knoxville last year — on Feb. 26.
“Once again this year, the SEC, from top to bottom, will be as strong as it has ever been,’’ Summitt said.
“We’ve had an infusion of some new coaches making a tough league even tougher.’’
Dawn Staley is the new coach at South Carolina. Wendell Hudson takes over at Alabama.
The SEC Tournament moves to North Little Rock, Ark., March 5-8.
NCAA tournament games begin March 21. McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga is among the first-round sites.
The four regionals are: Raleigh, N.C.; Berkeley, Calif.; Oklahoma City; Trenton, N.J.
The Final Four is April 5-7 in St. Louis.
2008-09 TENNESSEE LADY VOL BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
as of July 29, 2008
DATE OPPONENT SITE TV TIME
THURS., NOV. 6 CARSON-NEWMAN (EXH) KNOXVILLE 7 p.m.
SUN., NOV. 9 LOVE & BASKETBALL (EXH) KNOXVILLE 3 p.m.
SAT., NOV. 15 SAN FRANCISCO KNOXVILLE 2 p.m.
MON., NOV. 17 VIRGINIA KNOXVILLE 7:00 p.m.
FRI., NOV. 21 at Chattanooga Chattanooga 7 p.m.
SUN., NOV. 23 LOUISIANA TECH KNOXVILLE 3 p.m.
TUES., NOV. 25 WESTERN CAROLINA KNOXVILLE 7 p.m.
SUN., NOV. 30 DEPAUL KNOXVILLE 3 p.m.
TUES., DEC. 2 at George Washington Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.
THURS., DEC. 11 MIDDLE TENNESSEE KNOXVILLE 7 p.m.
SUN., DEC. 14 at Texas Austin, Texas FSN TBA p.m. CT
THURS., DEC. 18 at Old Dominion Norfolk, VA 7 p.m.
SUN., DEC. 21 STANFORD KNOXVILLE ESPN2 7 p.m.
TUES., DEC. 30 at Gonzaga Spokane, WA 7 p.m. PT
SAT., JAN. 3 at Rutgers Piscataway, NJ CBS Noon
THURS., JAN. 8 KENTUCKY KNOXVILLE 7 p.m.
SUN., JAN. 11 at Vanderbilt Nashville 2 p.m. CT
THURS., JAN. 15 at Mississippi State Starkville, MS 7 p.m. CT
SUN., JAN. 18 SOUTH CAROLINA KNOXVILLE 3 p.m.
THURS., JAN. 22 at Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 7 p.m. CT
SUN., JAN. 25 at Auburn Auburn, AL 2 p.m. CT
THURS., JAN. 29 MISSISSIPPI KNOXVILLE 7 p.m.
MON. FEB. 2 vs. Oklahoma (“Big Monday”) Oklahoma City, OK ESPN2 6:30 p.m. CT
THURS., FEB. 5 GEORGIA KNOXVILLE 7 p.m.
SUN., FEB. 8 at Florida Gainesville, FL 2 p.m.
THURS., FEB. 12 ALABAMA KNOXVILLE 7 p.m.
MON. FEB. 16 DUKE (“Big Monday”) KNOXVILLE ESPN2 7:30 p.m.
THURS., FEB. 19 at Kentucky Lexington, KY 7 p.m.
SUN., FEB. 22 MISSISSIPPI STATE KNOXVILLE 3 p.m.
THURS., FEB. 26 at LSU Baton Rouge, LA 7 p.m. CT
SUN., MAR. 1 VANDERBILT KNOXVILLE ESPN2 7 p.m.
Thurs.-Sun., Mar. 5-8 SEC Tournament N. Little Rock. AR
Thurs., Mar. 5 SEC Tournament N. Little Rock, AR FOX
Fri., Mar. 6 SEC Tournament N. Little Rock, AR FOX
Sun., Mar. 8 SEC Championship Game N. Little Rock, AR ESPN2
Sat.-Tues., Mar. 21-24 NCAA Tournament (1st & 2nd Rounds) Campus sites* ESPN/ESPN2
*(Eight pre-determined sites: First- and Second-Rounds: The Pit/Bob King Court, Albuquerque, N.M. Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, La.; E.A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Ky.; McKenzie Arena, Chattanooga, Tenn.; Comcast Center, College Park, Md.; Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio; Arena at Gwinnett, Duluth, Ga.; Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Mich.; Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa; United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas; Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Ind.; Galen Center, Los Angeles, Calif.; Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, N.J.; Cox Arena, San Diego, Calif.; Bank of America Arena, Seattle, Wash.; Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.)
Sat.-Tues., Mar. 28-31 NCAA Tournament (Regional) ESPN/ESPN2
Raleigh Regional (3/28 & 3/30): RBC Center, Raleigh, N.C.; Berkeley Regional (3/28 & 3/30): Haas Pavilion Berkeley, Calif.; Oklahoma City Regional (3/29 & 3/31): Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Trenton Regional (3/29 & 3/31): Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, N.J.
Sun. & Tues., Apr. 5 & 7 NCAA Final Four (Scottrade Center) St. Louis, Mo. ESPN
ALL TIMES, DATES AND TELEVISION SCHEDULES ARE TENTATIVE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
National Signing Day 2010
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 24
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
yawn...oh wait this is a basketball artice, not football.
VOLMAN40 writes:
workin has no life.....
VOLMAN40 writes:
......and he can't spell either, further demonstrating his intellectual prowess
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
I can't spell? Funny:
Posted by VOLMAN40 on July 24 at 9:59 p.m.
"that would be mcdillweed
unkind regards for Gator retards"
On Fulmer statement on Alabama subpoena
Posted VOLMAN40 on July 24 at 9:58 p.m.
"mcdillweek has no life"
On Fulmer statement on Alabama subpoena
LOL!!!!!!!!!!
VOLMAN40 writes:
Workin', a little sensitive are we????? Can't spell "article" huh? Not sure what your point is about my posts, unless you are referring to my typo "mcdillweek" which I corrected on my second post as "mcdillweed". You have them out of order- guess you did not see that. Not very smart are you workin'? You obviously did not notice my correction. Reading tough for you too, huh?? Funny, you did not mention my point about you not having a life. Guess you have no argument to the contrary, huh? Why don't you go back to your hole buddy??
ladivolfan writes:
That's the way we like it. Tough schedule makes tough players. We'll be in the Final Four. But darned if I still can't find any information on Love & Basketball. Who in the heck are they?
98reax writes:
Why must you irrelevant types always mar the good news on this forum? Is there not another forum where you could pontificate to yourself and the likes of yourself regarding self serving topics?
BillVol writes:
No UConn on the schedule -- good!
RAMMERJAMMER11 writes:
THE ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD THAT CARES ABOUT THIS PATHETIC SPORT IS KNOXVILLE.....WHAT A WASTE OF PAPER.......WHY DOES THE KNS NOT REPORT ABOUT CRICKET.....OR WHATEVER THAT SPORT IS.......
BigOrangeJeff writes:
BammerYammer6,
You're just jealous because the Lady Vol BB team has more NCs than the UAT football team - in 1/3 the number of years.
BOJ
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
VolMan, that's the order the posts appear under your username. DUH!!!! So yours is just a typo and mine is spelled incorrectly? LOL!!!!!!!
vol4gzus writes:
I agree....go to another site if you can't be civil. Ohhhhh workin it appears you chose to read the article of your own volition so the Yawn is back at ya cause nobody made you read it but your lonesome self. So next time if it is under Lady Vols and ,as this one was, is clearly an article about basketball don't go off complaining without foundation(no not makeup).
Hire, retreat back to bluegrass state and try to be happy about something.
GO LADY VOLS!!!
BigOrangeJeff writes:
vol4gzus,
If you were hiresanders, could there possibly be anything in your life in which you could find happines?
BOJ
marinevol writes:
Seems like vol4gzus has some good advice for those posters who are shocked and disappointed to learn that an article on this site under the heading "Women's Basketball" is actually about women's basketball. If you will take time to read the heading first, you won't be so alarmed by the article. As for me, I love the Lady Vols, as well as any other UT team. BTW, if you don't like baseball, you might not want to read any articles under the "Baseball" heading. You'll never guess what they're about.
LadyVolsEighTimes writes:
LET'S GET IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tommy Bowl is gonna be a fun place to be for both teams this year!
lol Marine!
VOLMAN40 writes:
Dear JerkinLikeHeck,
Again, you display your lack of reading comprehension in your most recent post. Yes, DUH, they display my posts in that order under my username. Most second graders, however, can figure out in which order they were posted on this page(a very large clue is that they have a timestamp). They were posted as I stated above, which clearly shows I corrected my typo. You have not, however, corrected your spelling error from your post (the first one re: this story) which demonstrates your need to repeat 2nd grade and learn to spell those difficult words such as "article". Why don’t you post on a ‘bama site? Intellectually that is a better match for you. All you are doing here is making a “fool more” of yourself!
98reax writes:
Which "Boro is that? Murfreesboro? Is she transferring to Middle Tennessee? Rick and the Lady Raiders will love to show her the ropes. Just funnin' you.
98reax writes:
Rick must feel like he just won the lottery.
ncvol writes:
9 in 09 sounds good to me. I know this is a rebuilding year and that I am being optimistic concerning another NC, but if anybody can pull it off, it would be Pat..
Go Lady Vols!!!
marinevol writes:
UConn can play us any year. All they have to do is just keep winning and meet us in the National Championship game.
98reax writes:
You guys can count on UConn making the grade all you want, but as far as I'm concerned I will be happy to never see or hear of them. They have caused enough controversy in the off season.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Ms Summitt is the star in the Vol's crown, her team's Grails dwarfing the others efforts.
She knows what she's doing, thus the hardware. She needs no smoke and mirrors, perfect storms or "needing to improve" each week trite statements. She has a clear vision, recruits quality players and doesn't look "lost" during games. She actually coaches them up.
She is the "ONE" in K-town.
Period.
mad_poly_uct writes:
"...controversy in the off season..." What controversy? What have I missed since I'm not really following the game this past spring and summer?
vol4gzus writes:
pd give it rest. the 'trite'comments,veiled attempts they be,are old and 'lost' in this article about Womens bball. Come out of your' storm' and see your 'need to improve.'
So no more huff n puff stuff that is all fluff off the cuff ! That wasn't too tuff nor a bluff. Yeah life can be ruff pd huff.
I know I don't need to quit my day job.... GO LADY VOLS!!!
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