The Big Orange Wave crashed down on the Southeastern Conference this spring.
While much of the talk around the SEC has been about the imminent arrival of Texas and Oklahoma this summer, Tennessee’s athletic programs made sure to leave their mark before the expansion begins.
According to a U.T. spokesperson, Tennessee is the first school to win the SEC regular-season championship in men’s basketball, baseball, and softball in the same year.
The Vols’ men’s basketball kicked off the trio of spring titles with the program’s first outright SEC regular season championship since the 2007-2008 season on March 6. The Vols beat South Carolina in Columbia to do so.
Tennessee Basketball: Tennessee Powers Past South Carolina To Earn SEC Championship
Then, just about one month later, the Tennessee softball program clinched their second-straight outright SEC regular season championship on May 3 with a win over No. 24 Kentucky in Knoxville. In a similar trend to Tennessee’s baseball team, the Lady Vols won all eight of their SEC series this season.
Tennessee Softball: Tennessee Softball Claims Outright SEC Championship For Second Straight Year
Just over two weeks after the Lady Vols’ SEC championship, Tennessee baseball got in on the action. The Vols clinched a share of the SEC regular-season championship on the final day of the regular season with a win over No. 24 South Carolina and a Kentucky loss to Vanderbilt. The Vols and the Wildcats split the title as Tennessee won nine straight SEC series to earn a share.
Tennessee Baseball: Tennessee Baseball Wins Share Of SEC Regular-Season Championship
The Vols’ baseball team seems to be the ironic throughline between the three titles. Tennessee baseball and Tennessee basketball both beat South Carolina to win their championship while Tennessee baseball and Tennessee softball both beat the No. 24 ranked team in the nation on the day they clinched their title.
The Year of the Orange Spring.
Tennessee basketball — Outright SEC Regular Season Champs
Tennessee softball — Outright SEC Regular Season Champs for second straight season
Tennessee baseball — Co-SEC Regular Season Champs. No. 1 seed in SEC Tournament.https://t.co/S062SNbK6l pic.twitter.com/MgDDqlQxO1— Ryan Schumpert (@rschump00) May 18, 2024
More from RTI: WATCH: Tennessee Celebrates Co-SEC Championship Watching Kentucky Lose
Athletics success is abundant on Rocky Top right now. The Vols’ football team is winning and selling out games while Tennessee’s trio of previously-mentioned spring teams won SEC regular championships before the postseason. The Vols’ men’s golf team placed second in the Austin Regional last week, which officially punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships. Here’s a look at some of the success happening on Tennessee’s campus:
Tennessee Football: Citrus Bowl victory, three bowl appearances in three years under Josh Heupel
Tennessee Basketball: Outright SEC Regular Season Champions, Elite Eight appearance
Tennessee Softball: Back-to-back outright SEC Champions, hosting Knoxville Regional
Tennessee Baseball: SEC co-Regular Season Champions, will host Knoxville Regional
Tennessee Golf: Advanced to NCAA Tournament, second place in Austin Regional
Tennessee Women’s Tennis: Advanced to Final Four as the 16-seed on Friday night, the lowest seed to ever reach the semi-finals since the 64-team bracket was made in 1999.
Tennessee Men’s Tennis: Advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee Track & Field: Thirteen All-SEC honors
