Here’s a twist for the Orange and White Game: Longtime nemesis on the football field in former Florida and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier will be honored in the pregame ceremonies before the Vols’ annual intrasquad game.
Spurrier was recently named the recipient of the Neyland Trophy, which is awarded annually by the Knoxville Quarterback Club to “an outstanding man who has contributed greatly to intercollegiate athletics.”
“Spurrier’s storied college football head coaching career included stops at Duke (1987-1989), Florida (1990-2001) and South Carolina (2005-2015), as he amassed an all-time record of 228-29-2, won seven conference championships (6 SEC, 1 ACC) and led the Gators to the 1996 National Championship.
“The winningest coach in both Florida and South Carolina football history, Spurrier has won more games than any head coach in the SEC besides Alabama’s Paul “Bear” Bryant. Spurrier was named SEC Coach of the Year seven times and ACC Coach of the Year twice,” according to the release from UT.
Spurrier, an East Tennessee native who retired in the middle of the 2015 season, finished 13-8 against Tennessee during his career and famously poked fun at UT multiple times, saying things like, “You can’t spell Citrus without UT” and that UT was “doing backflips” after going 6-6 in 2014.
The Vols will also honor college football sportscaster Brent Musburger as this year’s recipient of the Lindsey Nelson Broadcasting Award. The Orange and White Game is at 2 pm ET on April 16, and will be televised on the SEC Network.
