Except for women's basketball, which will still be known as the "Lady Vols." The rebranding was done in conjunction with study by the NIKE Graphic Identity Group. Here's a link and excerpt from the press release:
One Tennessee: Branding Restructure
Coinciding with the 2015 campus branding transition and its own 2015 transition to NIKE, the University of Tennessee athletics department will implement a branding restructure that will feature the Power T logo utilized for all programs except for women's basketball. As such, beginning with the 2015-16 academic year, all sports other than women's basketball will compete under the name, "Tennessee Volunteers."[..]
"Following significant branding studies by both our University and the department of athletics as well as conversations with head coaches and student-athletes, we will implement the related changes that resulted from this collaboration on July 1, 2015," said Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart.
The women's basketball program was excluded from this transition because of the accomplishments and legacy of the championship program built by Coach Pat Summitt and her former players. The Lady Volunteers nickname and brand is truly reflective of Coach Summitt and her legacy and will continue to be associated with the Tennessee women's basketball team.
Chancellor Jimmy Cheek actually said "Brand consistency across the university is critical as we strive to become a top 25 public research university."
Reaction from former UT women athletes is mostly negative so far.
|
|
Discussing:
- Begone Bradford Pear trees! (1 reply)
- Is Burchett demented? (3 replies)
- Tennessee Rising! (1 reply)
- Measles is a 'heat-seeking missile' experts warn as Florida outbreak grows (2 replies)
- Why are prices still so high? Corporate greed, some say (3 replies)
- Cost of car ownership on the rise, becoming unsustainable for some drivers (3 replies)
- Boeing was once known for safety and engineering (4 replies)
- Another rural hospital closes in Tennessee (2 replies)
- Tennessee farm worker finds severed pig's head at workstation after asking about pay, complaint states (1 reply)
- TN Republican Rep wants to change TN wetland regulations (5 replies)
- North Carolina Repub. gubernatorial candidate prefers that women can't vote (1 reply)
- CNN: What happened to Tennessee? (1 reply)
TN Progressive
- Malcolm Holcombe has Left the Building (RoaneViews)
- CNN Looks at Tennessee Legislature (RoaneViews)
- It's voting time again. Let's get out the vote. (BlountViews)
- Two Evil Forces At Work in America, Trump is merely a symptom (RoaneViews)
- A Couple of Things (RoaneViews)
- Winter at the Big Rocks (Whitescreek Journal)
- Maryville Daily Times Home Delivery changing again (BlountViews)
- Amazon facility in Rockford finally opens (BlountViews)
- Share your ideas for the Blount County Comprehensive Plan 2023 (BlountViews)
- Secrets from My Radio Days (Joe Powell)
- Fall 2022 (Whitescreek Journal)
- Mmmm, A Fresh Hot Cup of Joe (Joe Powell)
TN Politics
- Suit alleging suppression of free speech met with skepticism at U.S. Supreme Court (TN Lookout)
- SCOTUS to hear case alleging federal government bullied social media into censoring content (TN Lookout)
- The embryonic life (TN Lookout)
- MTSU board chairman wants to close meetings for “sensitive” topics (TN Lookout)
- Working-class people rarely have a seat ‘at the legislative table’ in state capitols (TN Lookout)
- Anderson County man keeps the history of Claxton and TVA’s role in development (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- NCAA tournament tests eternal optimism (Knox TN Today)
- Parkwest gets new chief nursing officer (Knox TN Today)
- Wilsons donate $100K for new health science education center (Knox TN Today)
- Fast reaction saves baby, earns award for Parkwest nurses (Knox TN Today)
- Fort Sumter Cemetery board to meet (Knox TN Today)
- Services Tuesday for retired fire chief (Knox TN Today)
- Mississippi State stuns SEC champs (Knox TN Today)
- It’s a grand life if you don’t weaken (Knox TN Today)
- Israel vs Hamas at city council, again (Knox TN Today)
- 51 properties over $1 million so far this year (Knox TN Today)
- Knox the Fox cruises with Kathy King’s girls’ trip (Knox TN Today)
- A conversation about PTSD (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- East TN leaders raise concern over foreign-owned land in Loudon County (WATE)
- Knox County sends letter threatening action if builders don't start on AJ Building (WBIR)
- WBIR sues UT, seeking to make public its agreement to run ORNL with Battelle (WBIR)
- East TN realtors don't expect drastic market impact from NAR settlement (WATE)
- New housing development in Powell caters to first-time homeowners (WATE)
- New Sevier County adventure park offers 900 acres of off-road trails (WATE)
- Space-themed attraction opens in Pigeon Forge offering virtual reality experiences (WATE)
- Tennova North's new $67.5 million expansion aims to meet the needs of the expanding community (WATE)
- 'One of the most loved men' | Former KFD Chief Bruce Cureton passes away (WBIR)
- Autopsy: Man who kidnapped Knox County girl suffered 16 gunshot wounds in confrontation off interstate (WBIR)
- THP encourages driver safety ahead of Saint Patrick's Day weekend (WBIR)
- Some Townsend neighbors call for vote recall after leaders approve 'boutique' hotel plan (WBIR)
News Sentinel
State News
- Pursuing happiness on Frazier Avenue and more letters to the editors - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Lee University president resigns - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Man pursued by deputies crashes into Chattanooga garage - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- The spring equinox is here. What does that mean? - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- When Peter Navarro goes to prison, he’ll hear the lions roar - CNN (US News)
- Dow Jones Futures Fall: Nvidia Slides On CEO Speech; Google, Tesla Surge Ahead Of Fed - Investor's Business Daily (Business)
- Alito extends order barring Texas from detaining migrants under SB4 immigration law for now - CBS News (US News)
- Time is running out for interest rate cuts, market forecaster Jim Bianco warns before Fed meeting - CNBC (Business)
- College student Riley Strain went to 2 other bars on night he went missing and talked to Nashville officer - NBC News (US News)
- Trump appeals Georgia judge ruling, seeks ouster of DA Fani Willis from election fraud case - USA TODAY (US News)
- Democrats Are Meddling in Republican Primaries - The New York Times (US News)
- Kroger to sell its specialty pharmacy business - MarketWatch (Business)
- Goldman Sachs executive Stephanie Cohen resigns - New York Post (Business)
- Biden campaign releases ad featuring Trump "bloodbath" comments - Axios (US News)
- Mike Lynch: Autonomy founder's fraud trial begins in US - BBC.com (Business)
- Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of censorship claim against Biden White House in Big Tech case - New York Post (US News)
- Supreme Court considers curbing New York regulators dealing with NRA - USA TODAY (US News)
- Crafts Retailer Joann Files for Bankruptcy - The New York Times (Business)
- US homebuilder sentiment unexpectedly rises to highest level since July - Fox Business (Business)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South
It makes one wonder exactly
It makes one wonder exactly how much money and resources were dedicated to this "branding" initiative. Gotta have something to keep all of those deanlets busy, I guess.
Let's play a game!
Please do check out the power words they've dreamed up. I bet the hive mind here at KV can make a solid contribution.
Branding....really
Would someone explain how the power T influences
UT's place in research?
And just because others have done it does that mean UT needs to as well?
Why don't they stay with some tradition, especially such a positive one?
I mean where is the power in the power T?
I think the power T was T Martin and I think we lost him
in 1998 or 1999.
And I bet Nike would make more money if they had 2 different logos.
So the question may be "who is the great and powerful Oz, behind the curtain, that is really making the decision?
Then again...these are just sports, ie games, so
Why should we even care?
Chancellor Jimmy Cheek
Chancellor Jimmy Cheek actually said "Brand consistency across the university is critical as we strive to become a top 25 public research university."
Yeah that struck me as notable as well. Just what in the hell do the two have to do with each other?
Just how long
Just how long is the UT administration going to keep up this charade of becoming a top 25 public research university? It ain't going to happen.
This is about delivering
This is about delivering Tennessee women's basketball fan dollars to Nike, which has rooted out adidas.
Claiming that it has anything whatsoever to do with "branding" UT as a research university is not only crass, but ludicrous. It's all about the benjamins (like most things these days).
Yep
(in reply to Bbeanster)
Yep
Also, two years ago, Hart
(in reply to Stick)
Also, two years ago, Hart denied that anything like this was afoot (getting rid of the LV logo). It may be recalled that this was one of Debby Jennings' accusations.
Prediction: As soon as Pat becomes too incapacitated to protest, they'll include the basketball team in the sweeping change.
This is NOT being done for consistency or equality.
Debby Jennings spoke the truth.
Elaborating on the above
Elaborating on the above post:
Very few women's programs have preserved the "Lady" appellation -- Tennessee and Baylor and maybe a couple more, mostly in the South. It is indeed antiquated, and under most circumstances, I'd just as soon see it go away. But contrary to what some national sportswriters are saying, Dave Hart doesn't give two farts in the wind about gender equality.
For several years S. Clark had me writing about WBB in the Shopper, and since she didn't allow the term "Lady" in her paper, writing about the Lady Volunteers was an interesting exercise.
Gloria Ray and Pat Summitt told me the story about how the name was selected -- that fans wanted to call them the "Volettes" or the Vol Dolls, and Lady Vols was considered a dignified alternative. Pat and Gloria's successor Joan Cronan built that brand for 30 years, and I was reliably informed that it was the most recognizable logo in women's athletics, not just regionally, but internationally. It has helped build a couple of generations of strong, smart women who are not going to just give it up because Dave Hart and Jimmy Cheek tell them to.
"Brand consistency across the
That one sentence tells us a lot.
Honestly, I'm not a fan of
Honestly, I've never been a fan of "Lady xxx" or "-ettes." Both terms diminish women. A participant in UT sports is a Volunteer, period. Now if we want to have "Gentlemen Vols" as well as "Lady Vols," then have at it.
That said, the way this whole thing was handled is crass and insensitive, as has been much of Hart's behavior since he got here. I suspect Bean is correct, and that the women's basketball team will become just Vols soon enough.
Here's a thought - how about taking some of that $$$ you spent on "branding strategy" and using it to expand the faculty in my department, something that is badly needed? Oops, silly me. That wouldn't move us toward "top 25 academic status" like branding will.
Bah.
I'll risk it.
(in reply to Rachel)
Here's the thing. The moniker "Lady Vols" is a brand unto itself. Many people in Dr. Drake's various English classes didn't care for his practice of addressing students as Mister, Miss, Missis, or Miz, (should she so desire). The point was that we were all in attendance for a predetermined, formal purpose, and that purpose was significant enough to warrant formal behavior and etiquette. It was much like a grandmother that insisted upon formal behavior at Sunday Dinner. "This is IMPORTANT, dammit! ", is the message being sent and received. I think Cheek and Hart's behavior seeks to undermine the equal, and well earned , stature of women's athletics at UT. I suppose it goes to whether or not one thinks second class status is something to be bestowed or earned.
I think Cheek and Hart's
(in reply to fischbobber)
I think Cheek and Hart's behavior seeks to undermine the equal, and well earned , stature of women's athletics at UT.
I think so too. I think Hart has been systematically undermining women's sports ever since he got here. But I'm more concerned about other actions he's taken as opposed to the name thing.
Don't get me wrong, I understand why people are upset. But I've objected to the "Lady" thing in women's sports for years (ask my spouse how much he's heard me bitch about it), and to be intellectually honest I can't start saying now that "oh, but UT is DIFFERENT."
Fair enough
(in reply to Rachel)
As I said, not everyone liked Dr. Drake's approach. And rest assured, a greater percentage of high school students objected when I used the technique, than did college students under Drake.
I would gather this means we're at a point of agreement. ;-).
How does using
(in reply to Rachel)
The word "lady" diminish women? I don't see that at all.
The use of "lady" to
(in reply to Dahlia)
The use of "lady" to differentiate women's sports has been a point of debate within women's sports and sports studies for quite some time, as have issues of sexuality.
If it wasn't
(in reply to Stick)
If it wasn't for their stellar record, I could certainly see the point of dropping the "lady "moniker.
However given their notoriety in national championships, I see keeping the appellation as a plus. As I've always told people from out of state "Tennessee an excellent basketball team! And we have a men's program too…"
If they do drop the "lady "moniker, then they definitely should change the men's program to the "Guy Vols" to differentiate them from the championship team.
I wasn't weighing in on this
(in reply to reform4)
I wasn't weighing in on this debate. I trust Betty's instincts and have no love for UT's athletic department. Just pointing out that it has been an on-going conversation to which I am sympathetic.
I understand that words like..
(in reply to Stick)
Chick, girl, broad, tart, bitch, kitten, dame and others have been and are debateable, i even wrote a paper on it in college, but where has the word "lady" ever been demeaning? I guess one could argue that Jerry Lewis said the word in a derogatory fashion, but that would be more in the WAY he said it.
IMO, it's all in the way words are used or expressed. I've got lots of female friends, some I call girls, some chicks, some ladies and yes, some bitches and none of them are offended.
"Lady" in women's sports is used respectfully and I don't see one thing wrong with showing respect.
I think Betty is right, that this is all about $ and getting new logos to boost Nikes sales and Hart (and probably Nike) concocted this "issue" and people are so pc anymore, many fell for it hook, line and sinker.
Your experience is not everyone else's experience
(in reply to Dahlia)
Well, considering the presentations and research that I made reference to involved the "ladies" in question, I generally defer to their judgment. Seeing that I'm a white male and all who has never been involved in collegiate sports...
What presentations and research
(in reply to Stick)
Did you reference? I must have missed it. I even asked Rachel what was demeaning about the word and she didn't reply. I've never in my life heard that "lady" is a derogatory term. Is "gentleman" derogatory as well?
This reminds me of the supposed war on Christmas. I was always taught that the saying "happy holidays" was the POLITE phrase but now it's derogatory because some people say so.
No, I didn't reference
(in reply to Dahlia)
No, I didn't reference specific work. I made an oblique reference to sports studies. I had the opportunity to work with folks in that field at UT. Many of the presentations and research topics discussed in seminars I attended dealt with issues associated with women's sports, from the "lady" appellation to the policing of athlete sexuality. In other words, it dealt with issues of power in a male dominated institution, and the majority of it was solid qualitative work that brought the voices of the athletes to the surface. Good stuff.
But, again, you should always try to remember that the way you see the world is not the way others see it. My assumption is that it is way more complicated than you're making it out to be.
The war on christmas is a rhetorical strategy designed to piss off the older demographic that watches faux news. Two different things...
Well, I've been a woman
(in reply to Stick)
For a little over 50 years and I've known a lot of women during that time, too, so I think I have some inkling over what I'm talking about. As I said before, I've yet to meet one who considered the word derogatory.
And yes, I'm very aware of what Fox does, but my analogy is the same. They've turned the phrase "happy holidays" into something negative when it's not.
Hmmmm...
(in reply to Dahlia)
Voices of student athletes captured by researchers who have a background in women's sports or your anecdata...? That's a tough choice. I think I'll go with the more complicated picture.
As to issue at hand, I'll defer to Betty. My only point is that it might be a little more complicated than you're making it out to be.
Good night.
Yep, just call me guilty of being skeptical
(in reply to Stick)
Of a study....and Dave Hart.
"Following significant branding studies by both our University and the department of athletics as well as conversations with head coaches and student-athletes, we will implement the related changes that resulted from this collaboration on July 1, 2015," said Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart.
Good night.
I do love online forms of
(in reply to Dahlia)
I do love online forms of argumentation... I wonder if you would be quick to make fun of climate science deniers, creationists, or whatnot who dismiss studies out of hand?
But, that's just it,
(in reply to Stick)
They have their own studies that they wave around. You know as well as I, that the way questions are posed can skew results. Just look how many people voted for Amendment 1. The wording can be misleading.
This is a classic case of making an issue out of a non issue. There were no protests, riots, speeches or tweets against the use of "lady" and now when Nike takes over, it's suddenly a problem? Yet they're going to keep the Lady Vols for basketball? So it's a problem, but not a super bad problem?
Who knows, maybe it's that new track coach who instigated this, She's done a good job so far of ruffling feathers.
They have their own studies
(in reply to Dahlia)
Step back and really look at what you're doing there.
Well, you've never met me.
(in reply to Dahlia)
Well, you've never met me. Again, I don't find being called a "lady" derogatory. I do find that it catches my attention, because it's usually in the context of "now you pretty little ladies shouldn't worry your head about important stuff."
Look, if society referred to men as gentlemen as often as it refers to women as ladies it wouldn't bother me. Why do you suppose that doesn't happen?
It reminds me (to get on another of my hobby horses) of women who insist they change their last name when they marry because it's more convenient for both partners to have the same last name. If that were the case, then roughly 50% of the population would choose the woman's last name, and 50% the man's. There's a reason that doesn't happen, and it has nothing to do with convenience and everything to do with society's view of women's proper role.
As I said earlier
(in reply to Rachel)
It is all in the way a word is used.
Maybe "gentlemen" isn't used too much in sports as it is a bit more proper, but it is used quite often, probably more so than you think.
As for marital names, i agree with you, it's a pain for women and it's completely antiquated. I actually think the whole idea of marriage is rather antiquated and I've been happily married for 23 years.
My favorite story about my
(in reply to Dahlia)
My favorite story about my husband (to whom I've been happily married for over 18 years):
I changed my name the first time I married, and I always felt it was a mistake. Took my maiden name back when we divorced and swore I would never change it again. Fifteen years later, when Jim and I decided to get married, I asked him "you're not gonna want me to change my name, are you?" His response: "why the hell would I want you to do that?"
See why I love him?
He sounds like
(in reply to Rachel)
A keeper. :-)
Famous quote from somebody.
(in reply to Dahlia)
"Don't call them dames. Broads hate that."
Lol!
(in reply to reform4)
Lol!
Thanks, Rachel and Betty for
Thanks, Rachel and Betty for a good discussion. I'm not a big follower of college sports. I thought taking away the Lady part was reducing the importance of women's sports. Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols are a brand for UT, currently giving more credibiity than men's football and basketball. However, I now understand how including Lady in the title for women's sports is not so good. If I had been into sports from a much earlier age I might have understood this earlier. I certainly do not accept any types of male/female separation designations in my professional life.
On the other hand
Bzgirl, I'm pretty torn about this, actually.
Although Pat Summitt has never laid claim to the feminist label, it is unarguable that she has done as much to break barriers for women as any other Tennessean alive – and maybe as much as anybody alive. Back in the 70s, when she was a neophyte coach, she led the fight against the TSSAA to abolish the old six-on-six half court girls' basketball game because she was having a hard time finding players who could shoot as well as defend and run the court. She defied the establishment and won in court.
Back during the GW Bush administration, he sought to appease some of his supporters who wanted to abolish TItle IX by convening a commission to study doing just that. One day I was in her office and mentioned that issue. She shot me that famous blue glare and pulled out a stack of printouts -- she was monitoring the commission's deliberations. She slammed her hands down on her desk (clinking those gold-and diamond championship rings agains the wooden surface) and said, "Any woman who votes for Bush ought to have her head examined – and you can print that!"
Pat Summitt attacking G.W. Bush would have made national news. I was pumped to have bumbled into a story this significant, but Joan Cronan later implored me not to use it, and my then-boss Joe Sullivan agreed, much to my chagrin (Joe and I had some very serious yelling matches, and this occasioned one of them).
Anyhow, back to my original point, which is that I am ambivalent about this.
Lady Vols (like Marines, there are no "former" Lady Vols -- Pat drilled the mantra "Once a Lady Vol, always a Lady Vol" into their skulls) are not only professional athletes, coaches and athletics directors, but doctors, lawyers, teachers and TV commentators. They are disciplined and fearless women who will fight like hell to keep their "brand."
Who am I do say they should be denied?
Besides, what marketing expert ever recommended tampering with a hugely successful brand and succeeded? Ask the guy who "invented" the New Coke how that worked out.
Dave Hart has had trouble with women's athletics everywhere he's gone. And Tennessee hired him anyway.
Dave Hart has had trouble
(in reply to Bbeanster)
Dave Hart has had trouble with women's athletics everywhere he's gone. And Tennessee hired him anyway
Maybe that's why they hired him.
Classic example of piss poor leadership at Tennessee
Hart and Cheek have no perspective about the history, the success, or the efforts which went into the building of the Lady Vol brand, it's not that they don't care, it's a more basic problem, they just don't get it.
Tennessee's Nike deal is a pittance compared to the money Nike is dropping on Alabama, LSU, Florida State, and other schools in the south. Bottom line is Nike is a vendor that works for the university, not the other way around, and that is where I struggle with the leadership over on the hill these days, they are much too concerned about what other schools are doing rather than fulfilling their primary mission and providing higher education for the students of the Tennessee.
In my opinion, as seedy, back alley, side deal, and corrupt as Nike is, why in the world would a university like Tennessee want to do business with that crowd. Remember, Nike once gave Tonya Harding $25,000 to defend herself in connection with legal inquiry into the assault on Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. Harding had no shoe affiliation, Kerrigan was a Reebok endorsee. That's the way the game is played.
Sally Jenkins gets it
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/tennessee-womens-athletes-know-what-it-means-to-be-a-lady/2014/11/13/71cae4a8-6b53-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html
Great article! is like
(in reply to mjw)
Great article!
is like chiseling the face off a priceless work of art.
Great column.
(in reply to mjw)
Great column.
Letter from a Lady Vol
Bring Back the Lady Vols
Yesterday ·
From a fabulous Lady Vol, Holly Kane Douglas, and a gift we as Lady Vols get. One tradition that we are fighting to keep.
"Death of the Lady Vols"
In my office sits a chair. Crafted in the style of a director's chair, it waits patiently, with it's white painted arms, white canvas seat and a back rest full of love, respect, and legacy. On one side is a name - my name. In orange thread it spells out who I was and who I still am. Holly Kane - a scraggly little javelin thrower who'd never lifted weights before college. A kid who only had the chance to throw 2 months a year but fell in love with her sport. A girl who wasn't recruited to any college but was gifted the chance to walk on at the University of Tennessee. An athlete who finished her collegiate career as one of the top 10 javelin throwers to walk through UT's doors. And now it represents a woman who can face any other challenge or adversity head on. Who fights for what she believes is right. Who empowers other women to do the same. Who gives back to her community with her skills and her stories. All this and more are emblazoned on the front of that fabric.
On the back is so much more.
On the back of this chair is the Lady Vol logo. Something I fought for, was proud to be a part of, defended with the best of my being and that united every female athlete to grace the UT campus. As a fellow Lady Vol Alum recently stated, it was the logo that gave tomboys like me role models of grace and strength. To me it was also the symbol of opportunity. The Lady Vols gave me a chance to become an excellent student, a community servant, a brave leader and a decorated athlete. That symbol is an open door to women everywhere. For decades it's reminded us that the power of the female athlete is to be treasured and respected. At least, it used to.
In my office sits a relic. A chair that in the summer of 2015 will be antiquated, discontinued, a fossil of a once great program. On my chair is the former symbol of a dying breed that wasn't afraid to stand on its own and recognize Tennessee's female athletes for who they are - not blend them in to the background of an athletic department.
In my profession I interact with people from across the country. As this topic of the death of the Lady Vols comes up, those who never followed UT sports are shocked and dumbfounded. Of any women's athletic department in the world, the Lady Vol brand has the power to stand alone. This call for unity and "one Tennessee" is doing the exact opposite and stands as completely unnecessary. As one of my customers shared, "I don't follow UT sports very much but I never confused the Volunteers with the Lady Volunteers."
The "Lady" didn't demean us - it empowered us. It set us apart and made an incredible distinction. It symbolizes a powerful grace spanning generations of female athletes. To this day when the topic of my time as a Lady Vol arises, it is met with honor and respect, even by complete strangers and SEC foes. No one ever asks my best marks or top finishes. The fact that I was a Lady Vol is enough, the rest is simply bonus.
Please understand that if you take this brand away, you take away so much more than a logo or another color on a uniform. You kill a mentality. You kill an identity. You kill an opportunity to empower young girls with two simple words - "Lady Vol". Please don't kill the Lady Vols.
Holly Kane Douglas
Lady Vol Track - 2007-2011
Realtor
Greenwood, SC
If you don't want to see the Death of the Lady Vols for all sports (except WBB), please sign the petition:
Again, this is NOT being done
Again, this is NOT being done to promote equality of women. It's just the reverse. You have to step back and think outside the usual paradigm to understand what's happening here.
Pat Summitt was the foundation of what was widely accepted as the strongest women's athletics department in the country (with the possible exception of Stanford, which has an unimaginable endowment).
She built the program and named the team (with the help of a few others) while operating at the sufferance of sexist boobs. You can argue that the name is antiquated, but don't confuse what is happening now with any kind of concern for women. There is a segment of UT's booster base that thinks Title IX is an abomination, and that it has had a deleterious effect on real athletics, meaning men's athletics.
Sports fans are traditionalists when it comes to the object of their fandom, and It's weird to hear people who are still outraged about the team wearing black pants on a single occasion a decade ago and are ready to fight over what color to outline numerals or who put the "woo" in Rocky Top argue that fans of the women's program have no right to be angry over these changes.
Men's Athletics
Do you mean football? Some guys on the wrestling, soccer and lacrosse teams wanted me to ask.
Yes, Bob. I mean football
(in reply to fischbobber)
Yes, Bob. I mean football with its bloated roster (all of whom are men, last time I looked).
During Title IX's implementation, non-revenue men's sports – notably wrestling, which was the subject of a huge law suit – were dropped to make the numbers, inflated because of football, work between men and women.
Most guys who bring this subject up blame women.
It's not the women
(in reply to Bbeanster)
We live in a world where blame is doled out based on which group we want to hate and control. It's not about men, women, hispanics, blacks, homosexuals, old white guys or any other group people want to bust us into. It about being a member of the human race. A broad spectrum of athletics and academics should be offered at the University level because that is what one does at this level. It is about teaching the state of being.
I have friends who have
I have friends who have contacted NIKE and been told that this is strictly an in-house decision by the UTAD.
Back in the hard core Second
Back in the hard core Second Wave feminist days, there was a popular skit called "Women Against Ladies." Ladies were prissy, fussy and fusty, demanding to have doors opened for them. Women were more inclined to kick down closed doors.
And there's the issue of parallel terminology – that if the women are Lady Vols, the men should be Gentleman Vols, and that using "lady" as an adjective prefix diminishes the status of those to whom it is applied. I agree with these premises.
What I object to is the notion that any of this is happening out of a desire to treat all athletes equally. Anybody who thinks Dave Hart is any kind of feminist needs to come see me about some beachfront property in Arizona and check his personal history. He's been sued by female coaches everywhere he's been. And whatever my personal views on the name are, I do not believe that we outside onlookers, fans or even boosters have a fraction of the investment in these programs as the women who were mentored and who, as the saying goes, gave their all for Tennessee. Google Cameron Conway Broome's interview on the subject. Cameron was a Lady Vol soccer player and roomie of basketball great Kara Lawson, as well as the daughter of City of Knoxville greenways guru Donna Young. She makes a strong case (and her mama proud, I betcha!)
I never said that "lady" was
(in reply to Bbeanster)
Dahlia,
I never said that "lady" was derogatory. I said it was used to "diminish" women Having a men's team called Wildcats and a women's team called "Lady Wildcats" implies that women are somehow not really "Wildcats". I've never been a fan of "Lady" or "-ette" in sports team names. It would be pretty hypocritical of me to decide that Lady Vols is an exception.
Except that I can see the side that says it is an exception. A lot of hard work by a lot of determined and talented women went into building that brand. I just wish the name had never been used to begin with.
Bean said: And there's the issue of parallel terminology – that if the women are Lady Vols, the men should be Gentleman Vols, and that using "lady" as an adjective prefix diminishes the status of those to whom it is applied. I agree with these premises.
THAT is what I mean.
As for Dave Hart and his reasons for doing this, I completely agree that it has nothing to do with his support for women's athletics. Quite the contrary.
(And BTW, the vast majority of the time when I hear men refer to women as "ladies", they're doing it in the same tone (conscious or not) that they used to use "girls.")
Well, to each his or her own,
(in reply to Rachel)
But I don't see it as diminishing women. I imagine the distinctions came about because women's teams were started after men's teams had already been established; after all, very few women used to even go to college, much less participate in sports and it was just a way to tell which was which.
I think sometimes Americans have a way of making way too much out of nothing and we tend to get a little too prickly for our own good.
Another thing: Women of color
Another thing:
Women of color are vastly overrepresented, population-wise, in basketball, and I've never, ever got an inkling from any of them (and I used to attend a lot of practices, all home games and as many away games as I could afford to get to) that they were bothered by the word 'lady.'. I would attribute some of that to cultural influences – their mothers and grandmothers were denied many of the basic courtesies extended to white women, and to them the term 'lady' has a far different connotation. It's a hard-won right, even if it's not one they think about a lot.
All you have to do to witness their pride in the term is to hear somebody like Nicky Anosike, who stand 6-4 and has more muscles than most men you'll ever know, exhort her team to work harder by bellowing "Let's GO, LADIES!"
The change is generated by
The change is generated by Dave Hart, under the influence of some key boosters (meaning $$). Word of his intentions seeped out a couple of years ago, and he denied having them when people like Debby Jennings blew the whistle.
Pat Summitt's enduring success was a double edged sword with these guys. They liked seeing a Tennessee team win national championships, but stuff like t-shirts saying "Where men are men and women are champions" rankled. There was a lot of carping about the columbia blue script on the block T.
This is NOT being done to appease "politically correct feminists" (whatever those may be). That's just a happenstance.
This story from Hart's early
This story from Hart's early days at UT is pretty informative, especially the line that describes combining the two departments as a "cost-cutting" move.
So let's see: $200 million in debt with two athletics departments; one is well-run, scandal-free, has fewer employees, wins on a consistent basis but because of the nature of sports fans is revenue negative (except for basketball, which doesn't generate enough dough to pay the bills for the rest of the sports).
The other is scandal-ridden, has a bloated payroll has trouble winning games, generates lots of money, but spends mer. So what you do is get rid of the AD who ran top-notch, respected programs, push women out of executive jobs and give them to men, give your legendary coach the bums rush out the door when she falls ill and then commence to obliterate the traditions she founded.
But it's all OK, long as he fixes football. So let's all get ready to celebrate a big win over the Commodores, even without our star player who must sit out the game while awaiting his fate on a rape rap.
(link...)
Well said.
(in reply to Bbeanster)
Well said.
Dear Tennessee: (link...)
Dear Tennessee:
(link...)
Nice! It made me think of the
(in reply to Bbeanster)
Nice! It made me think of the Lady Vol license plate holders and bumper stickers. I will miss those.
I never said that "lady" was
I always felt that the term "Lady Vols" offered a distinction WITH a difference.
A difference in discipline, in culture, and in respect to what a university is supposed to be about.
Well, forget that I guess, don't want to embarrass the fella administrators.
(link...)
(link...)
Wow!F**k a bunch of
(in reply to Rachel)
Wow!
F**k a bunch of "emotional connection to your students, staff and alumni," right? We're Nike. So shut up.
Even better is the part where U.T. Athletics gives up intellectual property rights to their marks, logos, branding etc. if created by Nike under the agreement. Sweet! I guess the U.T. athletic dept. and administration suits really did just fall off the turnip truck.
I predict the torches and pitchforks will come out in even more force if/when this becomes widely known to Lady Vols fans.
Their paymasters have
(in reply to R. Neal)
Their paymasters have spoken.
Of course this is all about UT being a ranked school.
Of. Course
Plus.....
(in reply to R. Neal)
From the looks of things, their design team sucks. By all appearances we were better off without them.
You can't even tell that new
(in reply to fischbobber)
You can't even tell that new Oregon State logo is a beaver. If my spouse weren't an alum, I'd still be trying to figure out what it was.
Beavers
(in reply to Rachel)
Beavers seem to be a reoccurring theme in Knoxviews lately. Is this some sort of Chinese calendar deal?
Speaking of branding
(in reply to R. Neal)
Lil John isn't exactly for alumni either.
There's a reason rap is pumped in over the Pride of the Southland Band.
The 18 yr olds are running the show.
End of story.
(If you want tradition, head to South Bend. Everyone else's is being dictated by the whim of kids)
Talk about burying the
Talk about burying the lede.....
Hint - it's the last paragraph.
Stepford Wives(link...)
Stepford Wives?
(link...)
Lady Vols
Gifts to the UT athletic dept. confer certain benefits on the giver, or have in the past. Some of these gifts have been designated for Lady Vols, but still entitled the giver to parking passes for football games, good seats at Neyland, etc. By eliminating Lady Vols, the cash can be moved around more easily. Gifts to scholastic programs used to count towards ball-game perks. That was changed some years ago.
A mechanism inundated with
A mechanism inundated with schemers.