University of Tennessee athletics director John Currie held a press conference on Thursday, September 14th to announce that the Lady Vols name, brand, and logo will be restored by the university.
“While the ‘Power T’ is the official mark of the University of Tennessee, we are committed to restoring the visibility of the Lady Vol brand and showing it the reverence it deserves so our Tennessee family can move forward, more united, to blaze new trails of excellence,” Currie stated during his press conference on Thursday. “We understand that people are very passionate about the Lady Vol brand, and the Chancellor (Beverly Davenport) and I have been diligent about seeking perspective from various constituencies since each of us were appointed.
“We will not allow for the Lady Vol brand to disappear from our athletics department or university.”
The move to restore the Lady Vols name, brand, and logo does away with a measure implemented by previous athletic director Dave Hart and the department before Currie. When Tennessee announced an apparel deal with Nike that would see the university move away from Adidas, Hart also announced that the Lady Vols name and logo would cease to be used by every women’s athletics team aside from the women’s basketball team. Otherwise, every athletics team under the university would simply be known as the Tennessee Volunteers and would implement the Power T logo.
But the announcement by Currie and Chancellor Davenport today effectively ends that decision, and the Lady Vols name and logo is free to be used by any team who wishes to use it.
“Our university has decided on one official mark and brand,” Currie said about the decision to use the Power T as the main official logo for the University of Tennessee. “But that does not mean that all other brands iconic to our history and tradition must cease to exist. I do believe it’s important to preserve and celebrate the Lady Vol brand and logo, which has for decades, and still does, possess great meaning and evoke incredible pride among many supporters of this university.”
Currie would go on to say that athletics apparel will feature the Lady Vols logo once again starting in the 2018-19 fiscal year, and he emphasized that the Lady Vol brand won’t be forced on any team, coaches, or student-athletes. Currie stated that “we aren’t taking the Power T away from anyone” and that anyone can still choose to be called just “Vols” if they so choose.
When asked initially if any uniform changes were on the horizon for any women’s athletics teams, Currie said none were forthcoming. But when he was asked later if there is a possibility of any alternate uniforms featuring the Lady Vols logo in the future, Currie stated, “I suppose you might see some stuff like that.”
