Monday, January 21, 2008
COACH BRUCE PEARL TO HEADLINE BIG ORANGE TIPOFF CLUB LUNCHEON THURSDAY!
TENNESSEE COACH BRUCE PEARL TO BE TIPOFF SPEAKER THURSDAY, JANUARY 24
The Big Orange Tipoff Club is proud to announce its next scheduled meeting this coming Thursday, January 24, our only Thursday meeting of the year at 11:00 a.m. , at Calhoun’s on the River in Downtown Knoxville, where a buffet luncheon will be served. Tennessee Basketball Head Coach Bruce Pearl, whose Volunteers have just become the highest ranked men's basketball team in the history of the program at #3 nationally in the latest Associated Press poll, will be the featured speaker.
Please plan to arrive as early as possible for this meeting. Calhoun’s will open the buffet line at 11:00 a.m. to accommodate what is expected to be another overflow standing-room-only crowd to hear Bruce, as this meeting will be held just after the Tennessee men’s game against Kentucky in Lexington that is being nationally televised by ESPN tonight, and just prior to the big women’s home game with Arkansas on that Thursday night. Coach Bruce Pearl is also expected to say a few words about his team’s upcoming big home game against SEC Eastern Division rival Georgia Saturday night and their road trip to Tuscaloosa next week .
The fact that UT’s men’s basketball team is drawing capacity crowds and is ranked in the #3 in the AP poll and #1 nationally in the RPI, and that the Lady Vols are also at the same time ranked #1 in the RPI, will drive attendance upward for this meeting. UT Men’s Athletics Director Mike Hamilton is also expected to be on hand, as will a member of the Lady Vol staff.
THIS WEEK’S SPEAKER: Bruce Pearl is leading a major renaissance period in Tennessee basketball history in his third season as the program’s head basketball coach. UT men's basketball has been revitalized in terms of fan support, facilities and victories since Pearl’s arrival in March 2005.
Vols basketball games have become must-see events during the winter months. In 2006-07, the Vols ranked fourth nationally with an average attendance of 19,661 — the second-largest total in school history. During Pearl’s tenure, attendance at Thompson-Boling Arena has grown by 7,436 fans per game.
As soon as the 2006-07 regular season was completed, a $15 million renovation began on the 20-year-old arena. As part of the first phase of the renovation, 32 new luxury suites and 166 side court loge seats were added. Additionally, a center-hung scoreboard was also added and the concourse was refurbished to add updated graphics.
Also opening in time for this season was the state-of-the-art practice facility adjoining Thompson-Boling Arena. Named in honor of UT alumnus Larry F. Pratt, the Pratt Pavilion houses two full-size courts — one each for the men’s and women’s basketball teams — as well as space for an athletic training room, weight room and film study room.
While the physical changes to Thompson-Boling Arena and the new Pratt Pavilion practice facility may be significant, nothing can match the changes on the court for the Vols. In two seasons at Tennessee, Pearl has led the Vols to an average of 23 wins per year, an SEC Eastern Division title and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. His 46 wins in his first two seasons are five more victories than any other UT coach in his first two seasons. His current 16-1 record this season ties the school's best start in history.
Pearl has achieved this success while playing in what is regarded as the toughest basketball league in the nation — the Southeastern Conference. Pearl’s 22 SEC wins over the last two years is second only to two-time national champion Florida’s 23 league wins during that time. Only one school in the SEC has a winning record against the Vols since Pearl’s arrival.
The Tipoff Club will be hosting the Knox County boys and girls high school basketball players of the week, as we do weekly, who will be awarded certificates by The Knoxville News-Sentinel and will be honored along with their coaches.
One lucky member each week will win some nice prizes by participating in the club’s weekly Pick’N’Win Contest for only $1 and picking the winners of a selection of men’s and women’s SEC games. Other door prizes will also be given to guests and prospective club members. The club will have several surprise celebrity guests on hand regularly, including former players, coaches, and other nationally-known basketball personalities.
CLUB MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION ATTACHED: The club is still soliciting individual members at only $75 and discounted senior citizen memberships at only $60. Spouses of members are free, making this an excellent deal. In addition, corporate memberships, which include all members of a firm, are still being offered at only $250.
Annual membership applications are still available by calling Lloyd Richardson at (865) 588-5433 or Mike Turner at (865) 599-2959, by faxing a request to (865) 588-2083, by e-mailing at tipoff@utfan.com , or by visiting the website at www.utfan.com/tipoff , where you will find a membership application for downloading with the Big Orange Tipoff Club logo on it.
All former UT men’s and women’s basketball lettermen, former UT Orange Tie Club members, Knoxville Quarterback Club members, VASF donors, Boost-Her Club members, UT alumni, friends, and students, as well as the general public, are invited to attend and join as well. Many members of the UT athletics administration, coaches, etc., are in attendance regularly.
All media are invited to attend and will have the opportunity to record and film any portion of the meeting, ask questions of Coach Pearl in a public forum at the conclusion of his remarks, and will be able to interview him, as time allows, on both a group and individual basis. Each of our meetings so far has been covered extensively by print and broadcast media, including TV stations and several newspapers. Local talk show hosts are planning live remote radio broadcasts for some meetings.
All media are also invited to contact Media & Public Relations Director J. Mark Hancock to schedule radio, television, and newspaper interviews with various members of the Big Orange Tipoff Club Board of Directors, including Lloyd B. Richardson, Charles W. Morgan, Barry J. Smith, Michael J. Turner, Christy Gentry, Kelly Pesterfield, Justin Cazana, Jim Darlington, and Club Historian R. Larry Smith regarding the club, its promotion of UT basketball, its purposes, its sponsoring of awards and contributions to scholarships, and its charitable endeavors in supporting college and amateur athletics in East Tennessee. Board of Directors members have been making radio and television appearances and doing newspaper interviews regularly, and are available for speaking engagements to any groups.
BUS TRIP TO ATHENS FOR THE U.T.-GEORGIA MEN’S GAME ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16: We are offering one of our very popular away game bus road trips to Athens on Saturday, February 16. The tipoff for that game will be at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
The trip would include roundtrip luxury motorcoach transportation, a ticket to the game itself, a box lunch, snacks (soft drinks, chips, etc.), and all taxes and tips, for only $100 per person. It will leave Knoxville on Saturday morning and return immediately after the game, so no one will have to miss work or church.
The trip will include video UT basketball highlights en route. Our previous day trip to Cincinnati for the Xavier men's game and overnite trip to Columbia for both the South Carolina men's and women's games proved to be wildly successful, and our overnite trip to the men's game in Memphis on Saturday, Feburary 23, is already a sellout. Coach Pearl has indicated that he wants to have as many Vol fans as possible to follow the team on the road, and the Big Orange Tipoff Club has answered that call. The trip to Georgia has always been our most popular, so don't be left out as we take over Stegeman Coliseum and make it a sea of Big Orange, as we have done the past two seasons.
Please e-mail us back immediately at TIPOFF@UTFAN.COM or visit our website at www.utfan.com/tipoff if you have an interest in this trip. You can reserve your spot and pay for it with your credit card through the link we have provided to Paypal on our website and can also download the signup form and bring it with you to the meeting or mail it to us with your check. Time is of the essence and space is limited, as the game is a sellout and we have only a limited number of spots still available to sell.
You do NOT have to be a member of the club to go on the trip. Anyone is welcome and invited, including children. If you’ve never been on a road trip to follow the Vols, they are a lot of fun and this is your opportunity to do so.
Even though the Memphis trip is a sellout, we will still put you on a waiting list if you use the convenient form that you can obtain on our website and send it to us with payment or download it from our website and bring it with you to our meeting Thursday or mail it to us. We will not cash your check until you are assured of a space.
NEXT WEEK’S SPEAKER: Next week’s Big Orange Tipoff Club meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 30, with former LSU Head Coach Dale Brown as the featured speaker.
Other speakers to follow include former Lady Vol National Champion & Olympian Tamika Catchings, and former Tennessee Vol SEC Champion forward Steve Ray.
XXX
The Big Orange Tipoff Club is proud to announce its next scheduled meeting this coming Thursday, January 24, our only Thursday meeting of the year at 11:00 a.m. , at Calhoun’s on the River in Downtown Knoxville, where a buffet luncheon will be served. Tennessee Basketball Head Coach Bruce Pearl, whose Volunteers have just become the highest ranked men's basketball team in the history of the program at #3 nationally in the latest Associated Press poll, will be the featured speaker.
Please plan to arrive as early as possible for this meeting. Calhoun’s will open the buffet line at 11:00 a.m. to accommodate what is expected to be another overflow standing-room-only crowd to hear Bruce, as this meeting will be held just after the Tennessee men’s game against Kentucky in Lexington that is being nationally televised by ESPN tonight, and just prior to the big women’s home game with Arkansas on that Thursday night. Coach Bruce Pearl is also expected to say a few words about his team’s upcoming big home game against SEC Eastern Division rival Georgia Saturday night and their road trip to Tuscaloosa next week .
The fact that UT’s men’s basketball team is drawing capacity crowds and is ranked in the #3 in the AP poll and #1 nationally in the RPI, and that the Lady Vols are also at the same time ranked #1 in the RPI, will drive attendance upward for this meeting. UT Men’s Athletics Director Mike Hamilton is also expected to be on hand, as will a member of the Lady Vol staff.
THIS WEEK’S SPEAKER: Bruce Pearl is leading a major renaissance period in Tennessee basketball history in his third season as the program’s head basketball coach. UT men's basketball has been revitalized in terms of fan support, facilities and victories since Pearl’s arrival in March 2005.
Vols basketball games have become must-see events during the winter months. In 2006-07, the Vols ranked fourth nationally with an average attendance of 19,661 — the second-largest total in school history. During Pearl’s tenure, attendance at Thompson-Boling Arena has grown by 7,436 fans per game.
As soon as the 2006-07 regular season was completed, a $15 million renovation began on the 20-year-old arena. As part of the first phase of the renovation, 32 new luxury suites and 166 side court loge seats were added. Additionally, a center-hung scoreboard was also added and the concourse was refurbished to add updated graphics.
Also opening in time for this season was the state-of-the-art practice facility adjoining Thompson-Boling Arena. Named in honor of UT alumnus Larry F. Pratt, the Pratt Pavilion houses two full-size courts — one each for the men’s and women’s basketball teams — as well as space for an athletic training room, weight room and film study room.
While the physical changes to Thompson-Boling Arena and the new Pratt Pavilion practice facility may be significant, nothing can match the changes on the court for the Vols. In two seasons at Tennessee, Pearl has led the Vols to an average of 23 wins per year, an SEC Eastern Division title and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. His 46 wins in his first two seasons are five more victories than any other UT coach in his first two seasons. His current 16-1 record this season ties the school's best start in history.
Pearl has achieved this success while playing in what is regarded as the toughest basketball league in the nation — the Southeastern Conference. Pearl’s 22 SEC wins over the last two years is second only to two-time national champion Florida’s 23 league wins during that time. Only one school in the SEC has a winning record against the Vols since Pearl’s arrival.
The Tipoff Club will be hosting the Knox County boys and girls high school basketball players of the week, as we do weekly, who will be awarded certificates by The Knoxville News-Sentinel and will be honored along with their coaches.
One lucky member each week will win some nice prizes by participating in the club’s weekly Pick’N’Win Contest for only $1 and picking the winners of a selection of men’s and women’s SEC games. Other door prizes will also be given to guests and prospective club members. The club will have several surprise celebrity guests on hand regularly, including former players, coaches, and other nationally-known basketball personalities.
CLUB MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION ATTACHED: The club is still soliciting individual members at only $75 and discounted senior citizen memberships at only $60. Spouses of members are free, making this an excellent deal. In addition, corporate memberships, which include all members of a firm, are still being offered at only $250.
Annual membership applications are still available by calling Lloyd Richardson at (865) 588-5433 or Mike Turner at (865) 599-2959, by faxing a request to (865) 588-2083, by e-mailing at tipoff@utfan.com , or by visiting the website at www.utfan.com/tipoff , where you will find a membership application for downloading with the Big Orange Tipoff Club logo on it.
All former UT men’s and women’s basketball lettermen, former UT Orange Tie Club members, Knoxville Quarterback Club members, VASF donors, Boost-Her Club members, UT alumni, friends, and students, as well as the general public, are invited to attend and join as well. Many members of the UT athletics administration, coaches, etc., are in attendance regularly.
All media are invited to attend and will have the opportunity to record and film any portion of the meeting, ask questions of Coach Pearl in a public forum at the conclusion of his remarks, and will be able to interview him, as time allows, on both a group and individual basis. Each of our meetings so far has been covered extensively by print and broadcast media, including TV stations and several newspapers. Local talk show hosts are planning live remote radio broadcasts for some meetings.
All media are also invited to contact Media & Public Relations Director J. Mark Hancock to schedule radio, television, and newspaper interviews with various members of the Big Orange Tipoff Club Board of Directors, including Lloyd B. Richardson, Charles W. Morgan, Barry J. Smith, Michael J. Turner, Christy Gentry, Kelly Pesterfield, Justin Cazana, Jim Darlington, and Club Historian R. Larry Smith regarding the club, its promotion of UT basketball, its purposes, its sponsoring of awards and contributions to scholarships, and its charitable endeavors in supporting college and amateur athletics in East Tennessee. Board of Directors members have been making radio and television appearances and doing newspaper interviews regularly, and are available for speaking engagements to any groups.
BUS TRIP TO ATHENS FOR THE U.T.-GEORGIA MEN’S GAME ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16: We are offering one of our very popular away game bus road trips to Athens on Saturday, February 16. The tipoff for that game will be at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
The trip would include roundtrip luxury motorcoach transportation, a ticket to the game itself, a box lunch, snacks (soft drinks, chips, etc.), and all taxes and tips, for only $100 per person. It will leave Knoxville on Saturday morning and return immediately after the game, so no one will have to miss work or church.
The trip will include video UT basketball highlights en route. Our previous day trip to Cincinnati for the Xavier men's game and overnite trip to Columbia for both the South Carolina men's and women's games proved to be wildly successful, and our overnite trip to the men's game in Memphis on Saturday, Feburary 23, is already a sellout. Coach Pearl has indicated that he wants to have as many Vol fans as possible to follow the team on the road, and the Big Orange Tipoff Club has answered that call. The trip to Georgia has always been our most popular, so don't be left out as we take over Stegeman Coliseum and make it a sea of Big Orange, as we have done the past two seasons.
Please e-mail us back immediately at TIPOFF@UTFAN.COM or visit our website at www.utfan.com/tipoff if you have an interest in this trip. You can reserve your spot and pay for it with your credit card through the link we have provided to Paypal on our website and can also download the signup form and bring it with you to the meeting or mail it to us with your check. Time is of the essence and space is limited, as the game is a sellout and we have only a limited number of spots still available to sell.
You do NOT have to be a member of the club to go on the trip. Anyone is welcome and invited, including children. If you’ve never been on a road trip to follow the Vols, they are a lot of fun and this is your opportunity to do so.
Even though the Memphis trip is a sellout, we will still put you on a waiting list if you use the convenient form that you can obtain on our website and send it to us with payment or download it from our website and bring it with you to our meeting Thursday or mail it to us. We will not cash your check until you are assured of a space.
NEXT WEEK’S SPEAKER: Next week’s Big Orange Tipoff Club meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 30, with former LSU Head Coach Dale Brown as the featured speaker.
Other speakers to follow include former Lady Vol National Champion & Olympian Tamika Catchings, and former Tennessee Vol SEC Champion forward Steve Ray.
XXX
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