KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee football is rich in tradition and Vols Wire will explore the program by examining each head coach’s tenure.
This installment will focus on the time that Bill Battle spent as head coach on Rocky Top.
When Battle replaced Doug Dickey he was 29, making him the youngest head coach at the time.
Battle came to UT after a stint as an assistant coach at Army. He worked at West Point between 1964-65 before joining Dickey’s staff as an assistant.
Battle never had a losing record as Tennessee’s head coach. He went 31-5 over his first three seasons, but also never won a Southeastern Conference championship. Battle beat Alabama 24-0 during his first season but fell to Auburn, 36-23, in the second game of the campaign. The Big Orange won 10 consecutive games to finish the 1970 season.
In 1971, Tennessee went 10-2, losing to both Auburn and Alabama. It was the same story again in 1972.
The following year, the Vols beat Auburn, but lost to Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss during the regular season. Tennessee opened the campaign with five consecutive victories and ended on a losing note when it fell to Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl.
In 1974, Tennessee went 7-3-2 and had losses to Alabama, Auburn and LSU. They were also tied by in-state rival Vanderbilt.
In 1975, the Volunteers won seven games and lost to the Commodores, Alabama, LSU, UCLA, Kentucky and North Texas State.
In Battle’s final season, the Vols went 6-5.
After his time on Rocky Top, he became a licensing agent and founder of The Collegiate Licensing Company.
He returned to Tuscaloosa, where he was Alabama’s athletic director from 2013-17.