Mattingly: It was with Pride that Dickey made 'T' a power

Photo by News Sentinel file photo

Dr. W J Julian leads the Pride of the Southland Band at intermission of a 1992 game at Neyland Stadium.

Photo by News Sentinel file photo

Members of the Pride of the Southland Band perform during halftime of a Tennessee football game at Neyland Stradium in 1969, Doug Dickey’s final season as football coach for the Vols.

Here's the story.

Doug Dickey, who thought "outside the box" before that term became popular, brought fans football innovations that everyone today considers a divine right, innovations unique to Tennessee.

Dickey put the "Ts" on the sides of the helmet and, with the help of bandmaster W J Julian in the 1965 Army game, had the "Pride of the Southland Band" open a "T" for the Vols to enter Shields-Watkins Field.

"It was really an effective thing," Julian said. "The crowd loved it. Coach Dickey was a wonderful supporter of the band."

There was also the old-fashioned interlocking "UT" at midfield, followed by the new-fangled "Power T," not to mention another "T," the "T" as in "Top, Rocky."

There's also the traditional alma mater "UT" formation at halftime, complete with saluting drum major and solo trumpet(s). It's all part of enhancing a great tradition.

There's another "T" to consider. After a big win, home or away, fans would also have to be hard-hearted, perhaps lacking any trace of emotion, not to stand tall when the "Pride" played the "Tennessee Waltz," that wonderful ode to lost love across the Volunteer State, penned by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King in 1948.

In previous years, the Vols had their bench area on the east side and entered the field through a gate at the 50-yard line. Seeing the Vols primed and ready for the game was exciting, but the whole deal lacked "pizzazz" or "sizzle," both very important concepts today. Bob Neyland wasn't into "pizzazz," just winning. "Pizzazz" would come years later … along with more winning.

Dickey saw an opportunity to get the crowd into the game, to create a signature moment, taking a radical step, at least by the standards of the mid-1960s.

He moved the team bench to the press box side, eschewing the bench closest to his dressing room, with the team running through the "T" just before kickoff. The band wasn't as large as it is today, but even old black and white pictures show the "T" looking as impressive as ever. The band plays "Fight, Vols, Fight" as the "T" forms, with "The Spirit of the Hill" heralding the team's appearance.

Occasionally, things got dicey, particularly when the visiting team was already on the field, and the Vols had to run through the visiting team's bench area. With time schedules carefully developed for each game, that potential crisis always seemed to be avoided.

There were also times the band would be playing and the "T" formed, but with no Volunteers ready to exit the tunnel. When television said so, here came the Vols, finally, onto the field to the plaudits of the crowd, and to the relief of band members.

"When Coach Dickey came to Tennessee, he was very interested in the band," Dr. Julian, band director 1961-94 and an innovator without parallel himself, said. "He thought we should have a little more hype. He's actually the one who designed and opened the 'T.' I remember the week we practiced it that he had the team come so they could practice running through the 'T.'"

Julian added to the overall ambience and "pizzazz" with a pre-game show that didn't vary much, but doesn't have to. It's an island of stability in an otherwise changing world, basically unchanged despite two other directors on board since Julian retired.

It's so good you could set your watch by it, if you're crazy enough to be looking at your watch while the band is performing that close to kickoff.

The opening of the "T" started from the east dressing room, with the "T" stretching across the field. When the Vols moved to a new dressing room in 1983 at the north end, the "T" shifted north to south, with players having to learn to turn right to get to their bench on the west side.

In 1993 against Louisiana Tech, players again had to make adjustments. The Vol bench moved back to the east side, and players had to turn left to get there. Both times, against LSU in 1983 and Tech, the players were up to the task. Nobody ran the wrong way. And haven't since.

It was a marvelous sight, and still is today, even with the home dressing room now under the north stands.

The bottom line impact of all this was readily explained by Dr. Julian.

"If the band didn't form the 'T,'" he said, "there would be a lot of complaints."

Tom Mattingly is the author of "The Tennessee Football Vault: The Story of the Tennessee Volunteers, 1891-2006" (2006), to be published in second edition in 2008, and "Tennessee Football: The Peyton Manning Years" (1998). He may be reached at tjmshm@comcast.net. His News Sentinel blog is called "The Vol Historian."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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