BIG ORANGE TIPOFF CLUB
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A STAR-STUDDED TENNESSEE TRIBUTE TO BIG ORANGE BASKETBALL!
Saturday night the Big Orange Tipoff Club honors all of the players and coaches who built the foundation of Big Orange Basketball at The University of Tennessee, all of whom we personally invited to be with us as guests at the Foundry at World's Fair Park in Downtown Knoxville. Coaches Ray Mears and Stu Aberdeen were the dynamic duo that ushered in the Golden Age of Hoops Heaven on The Hill that culminated in the Ernie and Bernie Era, which resulted in banners for Coach Mears, John Ward, Bernard King, and now Ernie Grunfeld being hung in their honor in Thompson-Boling Arena.
No coaching tandem ever had as much impact on Southeastern Conference basketball than Mears and Aberdeen. In their tenure, they recruited and coached 10 All-Americans, nearly half of all of the players who have ever achieved that status at UT. In addition to winning three SEC Championships, they had only one team finish lower than third in the league.
Coaches Mears and Aberdeen each won National Championships at Wittenberg in Ohio and Acadia in Canada, respectively, before they teamed up at Tennessee from 1966 to 1977. At UT, they built a 12-12 record against arch-rival Kentucky, the best any coaches nationally ever managed in the Wildcats’ history.
Their fiery intensity was legendary, at courtside, in the locker room, and in practice. They were masters at everything they did, and did it all in a first-class way. Their genius was not only in coaching but in promoting the game of basketball. They inspired their troops for battle as if they were going to war every time. The excitement they engendered at Stokely Athletics Center made every game an event not to be missed.
It is no coincidence that the emergence of Big Orange Basketball on the national scene came when Mears and Aberdeen arrived at Tennessee. Half of their teams played in national post-season tournaments at a time that only a select few were invited, as only 16 teams were allowed in the NCAA tournament for much of their career.
When their tenure at the helm ended at Tennessee, Mears and Aberdeen ranked second in winning percentage all-time nationally as a coaching staff to Dean Smith’s at North Carolina. Their legacy is in all of the lives they touched in a positive way as motivators, including yours truly, who was proud to coach with them in their Camp of Champions in their last summer in Big Orange Country in 1977.
On a personal note, I also had the privilege of getting to know both Ray Mears and Stu Aberdeen as men off the basketball court. I had the high honor of traveling with them and their teams for many weekends on the road in my years as a UT student in the 1970’s. I can truly say that experience was one of the highlights of my life, to be mentored by men of class and integrity, something that I and everyone else who was ever associated with them will never forget.
- John Mark Hancock, Big Orange Tipoff Club Board of Directors
- Website: www.utfan.com/tipoff
- E-Mail Address: tipoff@utfan.com
No coaching tandem ever had as much impact on Southeastern Conference basketball than Mears and Aberdeen. In their tenure, they recruited and coached 10 All-Americans, nearly half of all of the players who have ever achieved that status at UT. In addition to winning three SEC Championships, they had only one team finish lower than third in the league.
Coaches Mears and Aberdeen each won National Championships at Wittenberg in Ohio and Acadia in Canada, respectively, before they teamed up at Tennessee from 1966 to 1977. At UT, they built a 12-12 record against arch-rival Kentucky, the best any coaches nationally ever managed in the Wildcats’ history.
Their fiery intensity was legendary, at courtside, in the locker room, and in practice. They were masters at everything they did, and did it all in a first-class way. Their genius was not only in coaching but in promoting the game of basketball. They inspired their troops for battle as if they were going to war every time. The excitement they engendered at Stokely Athletics Center made every game an event not to be missed.
It is no coincidence that the emergence of Big Orange Basketball on the national scene came when Mears and Aberdeen arrived at Tennessee. Half of their teams played in national post-season tournaments at a time that only a select few were invited, as only 16 teams were allowed in the NCAA tournament for much of their career.
When their tenure at the helm ended at Tennessee, Mears and Aberdeen ranked second in winning percentage all-time nationally as a coaching staff to Dean Smith’s at North Carolina. Their legacy is in all of the lives they touched in a positive way as motivators, including yours truly, who was proud to coach with them in their Camp of Champions in their last summer in Big Orange Country in 1977.
On a personal note, I also had the privilege of getting to know both Ray Mears and Stu Aberdeen as men off the basketball court. I had the high honor of traveling with them and their teams for many weekends on the road in my years as a UT student in the 1970’s. I can truly say that experience was one of the highlights of my life, to be mentored by men of class and integrity, something that I and everyone else who was ever associated with them will never forget.
- John Mark Hancock, Big Orange Tipoff Club Board of Directors
- Website: www.utfan.com/tipoff
- E-Mail Address: tipoff@utfan.com
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
BIG ORANGE TIPOFF CLUB SEASON FINALE TO FETE RAY MEARS & STU ABERDEEN ERA - SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 1!
The Big Orange Tipoff Club is proud to announce its season finale gala, set for Saturday evening, March 1, at 6:30 p.m., at The Foundry at World’s Fair Park. This will serve as a pre-game bash for Sunday's Kentucky match-up as well as a gala where a buffet will be served. The theme of the evening will be to honor the late Coach Ray Mears, the winningest coach in Tennessee men's basketball history, and players, families, and coaches from that era. Long considered the Golden Age of Big Orange Basketball, this event comes on the eve of the retirement of Ernie Grunfeld's jersey, and Ernie will be on hand for our dinner, so arrive early to make sure you get to see him.
It will undoubtedly be a sellout, as each of our last two dinners have been. The Foundry will open the cash bar at 5:00 p.m., and the buffet line at 5:30 p.m. to accommodate what is expected to be a standing-room-only crowd. The program starts promptly at 6:30 p.m., and will conclude by 8:00 p.m. or so.
The UT cheerleaders and the Big Orange Banditos Band will be on hand as well, making it a festive pre-game pep rally. Dress is “game casual” and very informal. Just wear whatever you normally wear to a game, jeans, sweater, etc. We are also keeping prices so low that it is affordable for the whole family or you can bring all of your business clients. A special commemorative "thank you" collectible gift will be given to everyone that you don't want to miss.
UT Coach Bruce Pearl will be there to meet and greet everyone at the dinner and will be a major part of our program that night prior to the big Tennessee-Kentucky home game that will be nationally televised at Noon on Sunday. We will also have UT Lady Vols representatives there as well before they go to Athens for their game with the Lady Bulldogs on Sunday night.
Parking will be free and plentiful. Roving photographers will be there to take individual, group, and candid photos that you will be able to purchase as souvenirs. We expect many former players to attend, as well as surprise celebrity guests and speakers that you won't want to miss.
Tickets are only $25 each, and $250 for a reserved table of 10, and are now on sale. Please get your tickets early so that you won’t get left out. All corporate sponsors and anyone else who wants priority seating are encouraged to reserve a table immediately. This may be the biggest crowd we've ever had for any event in our club's history, so we urge you to get your reservations in now.
You can print and mail, fax, or e-mail the signup form back, or bring it with you along with your check to this week's luncheon meeting at Calhoun's on the River at Noon on Wednesday, where we will have tickets awaiting you. The form is available on our website, www.utfan.com/tipoff , where you can also buy tickets via Paypal with your credit card. We encourage you to get your order in as soon as possible to secure your seat.
It will undoubtedly be a sellout, as each of our last two dinners have been. The Foundry will open the cash bar at 5:00 p.m., and the buffet line at 5:30 p.m. to accommodate what is expected to be a standing-room-only crowd. The program starts promptly at 6:30 p.m., and will conclude by 8:00 p.m. or so.
The UT cheerleaders and the Big Orange Banditos Band will be on hand as well, making it a festive pre-game pep rally. Dress is “game casual” and very informal. Just wear whatever you normally wear to a game, jeans, sweater, etc. We are also keeping prices so low that it is affordable for the whole family or you can bring all of your business clients. A special commemorative "thank you" collectible gift will be given to everyone that you don't want to miss.
UT Coach Bruce Pearl will be there to meet and greet everyone at the dinner and will be a major part of our program that night prior to the big Tennessee-Kentucky home game that will be nationally televised at Noon on Sunday. We will also have UT Lady Vols representatives there as well before they go to Athens for their game with the Lady Bulldogs on Sunday night.
Parking will be free and plentiful. Roving photographers will be there to take individual, group, and candid photos that you will be able to purchase as souvenirs. We expect many former players to attend, as well as surprise celebrity guests and speakers that you won't want to miss.
Tickets are only $25 each, and $250 for a reserved table of 10, and are now on sale. Please get your tickets early so that you won’t get left out. All corporate sponsors and anyone else who wants priority seating are encouraged to reserve a table immediately. This may be the biggest crowd we've ever had for any event in our club's history, so we urge you to get your reservations in now.
You can print and mail, fax, or e-mail the signup form back, or bring it with you along with your check to this week's luncheon meeting at Calhoun's on the River at Noon on Wednesday, where we will have tickets awaiting you. The form is available on our website, www.utfan.com/tipoff , where you can also buy tickets via Paypal with your credit card. We encourage you to get your order in as soon as possible to secure your seat.
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