KNOXVILLE — Another one of Derek Dooley’s “welcome to Tennessee” moments came Thursday courtesy of longtime Volunteers prodder Steve Spurrier.
Spurrier joked on his local radio show Thursday night about Tennessee’s recent decision to delay or buy out a home-and-home series with North Carolina. The Vols asked the Tar Heels to push back their 2011 and 2012 meetings, but they refused, which will probably force UT men’s athletic director Mike Hamilton to buy out of the series for $750,000.
South Carolina let North Carolina delay the teams’ season opener this season so the Tar Heels could play LSU in Atlanta. North Carolina and South Carolina now will play in 2013.
“Golly, times have changed when Tennessee doesn’t want to play North Carolina in football because they’re too good for them,” Spurrier said. “That’s kind of amazing right there."
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Comments » 377
TLepage writes:
stevio got it right.... this is a huge embarrassment.... Thanks Mikey!!!!!!
Mr_Bandman writes:
Well, as much as I loath that b@$+@rd, he's right and I'm embarrassed. Hopefully CDD can recruit well-enough and his staff can coach 'em up well enough to get us back where we were a a decade ago within a few years.
TLepage writes:
I have less respect for Dooley now because of this debacle as well... He won't even confront the media about... He needs to be told that Tennessee anybody, anywhere, anytime.... This cowardly BS, is really bothering me...
d.hippie_1960#1386500 writes:
Abosolutely right Hamilton is chicken $%*#! This stinks about as bad as his last 3 coach hires!1!
wcirwin64#584242 writes:
Golly, I guess times have changed Stevie. You used to be a feared championship coach at a premier program. BTW, How did coaching in the NFL work out for ya ???
SummittsCourt writes:
Fire hammy now! Nothing has changed, fire hammy now! Not only is he a sneaky snake, he is a coward hiding behind "it makes business sense".
He's a nightmare for UT. It's time to get rid of him.
brokebackvol writes:
FIRE MIKE HAMILTON!
gnm53108 writes:
1st off...Darth visor needs to keep his nose damn out of it.
2nd...He's right.
TommyJack writes:
Stevio got it wrong. He IS right about times changing, however. I can almost remember when he was relevant.
easttnvol21 writes:
Buy out North Carolina??? Who gives a rats axx ??Line up and play football----what do we have a roster of walk ons? While our AD is at it maybe he can work out a buy out of UT Martin! Dorf on football!
utclassof1992 writes:
When I am agreeing with Steve Spurrier, it shows how little faith I have in the current athletic administration at UT. Steve is absolutely right.
Cash writes:
you don't rebuild a program by dodging average teams.
Hambone is as much a poison to the football program as Kiffie was. and the team should be mad as he77 about this.
the Vols are now the official joke of the NCAA. thanks Hamhead.
NTNSTY writes:
Welp, Stev-o better beat us this year. Just think of the backlash on him if he lost to the Vols, "UNC might have been to good for the Vols to take on this year, but SC wasn't..."
gnm53108 writes:
"Damn nose"
Sorry fella's...got a health issue and taking a new rx.
armyvol22 writes:
Steve says it all; “Golly, times have changed when Tennessee doesn’t want to play North Carolina in football because they’re too good for them.” “That’s kind of amazing right there."
“We’re not going to bail out from playing North Carolina the way Tennessee did.”
We need to play UNC and beat the stuffing out of them. This is becoming an Embarrassment!
TommyJack writes:
Nope. Hamilton is trying his best to get this team bowl eligible next year. This will blow over and be forgotton.
volmania97 writes:
Steve is right about how things have changed. He can't ever beat Tennessee now and he still pissed about the whooping he got last year.
utclassof1992 writes:
Well, if that is the case, this is the coward's way of doing it. I personally think the geek is trying to squeeze more money out of next year's schedule. We look like idiots right now, and Mike Hamilton is most of the reason for it. Kiffin is the other 10 percent of it. My god, how low have we sunk?
volman79 writes:
It is sad but mike hamilton makes me miss doug dickey! That's sad!
tnnavyvol writes:
Up yours Spurrier.
armyvol22 writes:
I remember when I could brag about Tennessee never playing a 1-AA team like the other schools do. Yes, we would play lower teams but they still were division 1 football. Now we have UT Martin on our schedule. We are just average now. Pitiful! Well lower than average, backing out of playing teams now too.
utclassof1992 writes:
No, probably more like played CPA in his room and carried an old TI adding machine with the tape trailing behind him. He is a Clemson grad, so he has no ties here and no passion. This is just like working for Fed-Ex or Johnson & Johnson to him. All about the bottom line.
tnnavyvol writes:
Oh, and nice pink tie.
mwhla writes:
UT HAD to know this was coming.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Lawd, can we just get on to the Ducks without anymore distractions.
Hadn't felt right since 2001. This has got to cease.
smifrat writes:
Who gives a flyin' $hit what he thinks anyway? Or anyone else for that matter. Why even print this garbage on a VOLS football website and Knoxville news paper?! WTF is up with KNS running UT in the ground over and over and over again? We get John Adams' BS all the time taking shots at us, Cartoon's calling us "yellow" and on and on. Might as well just call this site "Go-everyoneeleintheSECbuttheVOLS.com" and set up shop in Alabama, Fla or for Adams'- LSU....
volzcrushm writes:
FIRST, LOOK AT OUR SCHEDULE DURING OUR REBUILDING. SECOND, WE ASK THEM TO SIMPLY MOVE THE GAMES BACK A COUPLE OF YEARS....JUST LIKE SPURRIER DID WITH THEM. IF THEY CAN'T CO-OPERATE A LITTLE... (**^% THEM!! AND CANCEL.
TennVol01 writes:
"Golly, times have changed when Tennessee doesn’t want to play North Carolina in football because they’re too good for them,” Spurrier said. “That’s kind of amazing right there."
Spurrier is correct. The needed buy out of the North Carolina games has given the proud Tennessee Orange a huge black eye. The embarrassing news is all over ESPN, S.I., and Rivals. Recruits will avoid us like the plague.
RockyTopVolFan writes:
Have patience, give Dooley a fair chance for a few years to succeed. I believe Dooley will make Tennessee fans and his esteemed Mom & Dad very proud here, just give him time.
Spurrier is no longer relevant and his best days are long, long behind him. All he can do is smirk and make worthless comments trying to be a comedian. He makes a poor comedian and a poor coach at South Carolina, why do his comments matter? And to whom? Vol haters??
Exiled writes:
Really, I am getting so tired of being embarassed by this team and this AD. I live of here in NC, so now I am going to have to hear this, too. I've tired to support Hamilton, but it is getting harder and harder.
rockytopatl writes:
Well, duh ... it's called news. You ought to stick your head up out of that hole now and then.
CrankE writes:
I presume that Mike $live will be sending out the fine notice immediately, right?
ubershamu writes:
Am I the only one who is OK with this decision? Listen everyone, the BCS no longer takes strength of schedule into account. There's no longer any incentive for teams like Tennessee to schedule difficult out of conference games. With Tennessee's brutal SEC schedule, coupled with the fact that we have to play LSU and Cincinnati next year, the decision to play UNC was stupid. I'm glad we backed out. Sure, we kind of look silly, but frankly, it's the smart move by Hamilton.
Also, this is a clear indication that CDD sees a BCS national title run in 2011 :)
GBO
jjsteel writes:
I'd rather have my butt kicked than run from a fight.
TennVol01 writes:
I believe we were all feeling good about the rebuilding of UT Football until the NC news broke. Now Hamilton has cast doubt on Dooley, the current team, and the future teams. I don't know what to think any more. The rest of the nation thinks we are now cowards. Are we Mr. Hamilton? Your call. NC now will use this as publicity for the next four years.
kevin151 writes:
Get lost Hamilton, I will not spend a dollar on the university till you leave
Couchdummy writes:
I too am ashamed of this unwillingness to meet a team on the field that Hamilton has announced. We look like weak sisters of the SEC! Hamilton will try to dress this pig, but it is already a national embarassment that we want to run from a fight!
CoverOrange writes:
Some points:
1. Ham was working on this for several years before Dooley.
2. Mike Slive has nothing to do with it since it doesn't involve Alabama or Florida.
3. Why did UNC want to play LSU in the chicken bowl rather than you? Because you're not relevant to the national scene either?
budd#207344 writes:
No TJ this will not be forgotten
CoverOrange writes:
I wonder how much of the Neyland Stadium reconstruction budget overrun will be covered by this cool $2.25M move.
smifrat writes:
Thanks for the advise! :) but slamming UT in most of the articles that are written on a UT FAN site is not news. How many positive things are on here?
Most stuff is about Kiffin, UT's foes talking smack about them, Cartoons painting UT as cowards or some columnist taking shots at them. That is not NEWS!
stevefrommemphis writes:
HA HA HA HA I never thought I'd agree with Spurrier on any comment he made about the Vols.
Here's something that shows what a disgraceful situation we have here. I sent emails to both UNC and UTAD about the decision, telling both how disgusted I am by the decision and urging them to play the game. I received nice email responses from both Carolina administrators. From UT, I got a message saying that the message was undeliverable because the email address (which I found on the official UT website, www.utsports.com) cannot be found. So I forwarded the message to Chancellor Cheek. Haven't heard from him yet, and don't expect to, given the chicken way they run things at my alma mater, UT-Knoxville.
smifrat writes:
Not to mention all the TROLLS that are on here....
JayTee writes:
Who gives a big rats behind what Spurrier thinks about Tennessee football? It isn't like Tennessee is the only school that has ever done this.
Anyone who agrees with Spurrier on anything concerning Tennessee is not and never will be a true VOL fan.
brod writes:
steve is right. times have changed. it's unc. not usc. we need to play them. i'll drive 2 hours to go watch the dam* thing if we just play them. i will not drive two hours to watch buffalo.
VOLinAthensGA writes:
Spurrier is right, ugh. I hate to say it. I am more embarrassed than when Kiffy left. I can guarantee you I am not going to waste 8 hours of driving to see Buffalo.....This team is for the great Tennessee Fans and the fans want this game!
TennVol01 writes:
I checked the NC newspaper to see what they were saying about all this. I could not find a thing about UT. But I found the below. NC has too many problems right now to brag about us backing out of their games. Their program is falling apart. Hamilton should play them now, not in three years when they recover.
1...Heels under 'dark cloud'.
ABC and ESPN television analyst Kirk Herbstreit said Thursday that as an NCAA investigation continues, it's becoming a burden for North Carolina and other schools that have been under scrutiny.
4...CHAPEL HILL -- Freshman defensive tackle Brandon Willis, one of the University of North Carolina's top recruiting prizes, left the football program on Thursday as the buildup to the season took another unusual turn.
3...Loss of high school phenom. Durham Hillside senior Vad Lee will take his dual-threat quarterbacking skills to Georgia Tech with plans of putting them to use in the triple-option offense coached by Paul Johnson that helped the Yellow Jackets win the 2009 ACC title.
Again...not a word about UT.
easleychuck writes:
I have not looked at South Carolina's schedule. But living in the state, I do know that they do not play teams like UCLA, Notre Dame, Oregon, California, Miami in home and away pairings. They play Clemson every year (they are owned by Clemson). They play NC State and North Carolina at times.
So as TJ aptly described him, Mr.Irrelevant can go back under his rock.
I recall that when he was at UF, he dropped Miami because he was getting his shorts handed to him.
PHAT_VOL writes:
Thanks Hamilton, Your quite a guy
GO VOLS !
utfan36 writes:
i personaly want to crawl in a hole this aint tn.everybody in college fottball are laughing at us! this is not ut!ut dosent back down MIKE!!cdd needs to man up and take control of this! no!!! this is ut we PLAY anbody at any time and i hate sp allways make fun of ut you no cant spell curtis bowl with out ut that sucks hope this fire our team up and we put it to sc this year gb we are ut
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