Phillip Fulmer — former American football player, coach, and athletic director at the University of Tennessee
Join us for a conversation featuring the former American football player, coach, and athletic director at the University of Tennessee, Phillip Fulmer! Moderating the conversation is Pete Weber, 8-time Tennessee Sportscaster of the year.
Coach Phillip Fulmer served as Head Football Coach at Tennessee for 17 years, from 1992-2008. He and his staff built an organization that produced the most successful era in modern Tennessee football history. Fulmer’s family approach in developing and guiding his young men on and off the field gave him the opportunity to mentor some of the top names in college and NFL history, including Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, Eric Berry, Chad Clifton, Al Wilson, and Jason Witten to name a few.
Fulmer’s motivation was rooted in his role as a principled mentor who pushed his student-athletes to grow socially, spiritually, academically, and personally, as well as athletically. His holistic approach earned recognition from his peers as he was named the second coach in history to earn the Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Trophy, the presidency of the American Football Coaches Association, along with national, regional, and conference coach of the year honors.
In Coach’s last 11 years, he played in the SEC Championship game five times, winning twice. He also led the Vols to one of the greatest moments in school history, the 1998 National Championship in the very first BCS title game. In his 17 seasons, he had 92 players make an NFL roster, 18 players earn All-American honors and another 68 players were selected All-SEC. This all led up to an induction into the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 2017 Coach was appointed as the University of Tennessee’s Director of Athletics. Under Fulmer’s leadership, Tennessee laid claim to a pair of team SEC championships 34 individual/relay SEC championships, and three individual/relay NCAA titles. The 2019 calendar year marked the first in school history that Tennessee’s football team earned bowl eligibility while baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s basketball all made their respective NCAA Tournaments.
Coach Fulmer has served as chair of the board of directors for the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Fulmer and his wife, Vicky, have long been passionate and active supporters of several philanthropic causes. He served as the national spokesperson for The Jason Foundation, Inc., since 1998. He also served as honorary chair of the Knoxville Alzheimer’s Association Walk and sat on the Board of Trustees for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley.