The Tennessee Volunteers is a collegiate men's basketball team of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. The Vols compete in the South-Eastern Conference (SEC) and Division I of the NCAA. Tennessee has routinely placed in the top 15 in the country for attendance volume, with a current capacity of more than 20,000. From 1988 to 2006, the average attendance was at 60% capacity. From 2007 to 2018, the average attendance was at 79% capacity.
In 2010, Vols advanced as far as the Elite Eight, and in 2023, they reached the Sweet 16 in the March Madness. Many famous players have played collegiately at the Vols, including Bernard King, Dale Ellis, Allan Houston, Tobias Harris, and Chris Lofton, all of whom have played in the NBA.
Tennessee Men’s Basketball Head Coach 2024
The 2019 Naismith Coach of the Year, Rick Barnes, had been the Vols' coach since 2015. During the 2018–19 season, they held the number one ranking for several weeks. Prior to Tennessee, he led the Texas Longhorns to 16 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments during his 17 seasons as head coach, which went from 1998 to 2015.
Furthermore, Barnes has served as a coach at Clemson University, Providence College, and George Mason University. He has a 25–26 (.490) career record in the NCAA tournament (including a 19–16 record while attending Texas). Barnes has won several accolades: the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award (2009), the CAA Coach of the Year (1988), the 4× Big 12 Coach of the Year (1999, 2003, 2008, 2014), the Naismith Coach of the Year (2019), the Henry Iba Award (2019), and the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award (2018).
Rick Barnes’s Physical Attributes
| Age | 70 years old, as November 2024 |
| Height | N/A |
| Weight | N/A |
Rick Barnes’s Age
Richard Barnes is 70 years old, as of November 2024. He was born on July 17, 1954, in Hickory, North Carolina, United States. Barnes graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College in 1977, where he played basketball from 1974 to 1977.
Tennessee Basketball Head Coach, year-by-year
The head coaches of Tennessee basketball are as follows, year by year:
| Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
| 1908–10 | Robert C. Whitaker | 2 | 9–13 | .409 |
| 1910–11 | Alex Stone | 1 | 7–9 | .438 |
| 1911–16 | Zora Clevenger | 5 | 151–72 | .677 |
| 1916–17 | John R. Bender | 1 | 10–5 | .667 |
| 1917–19 | R.H. Fitzgerald | 2 | 5–15 | .250 |
| 1919–21 | John R. Bender | 2 | 29–10 | .744 |
| 1921–26 | Mark Banks | 5 | 52–33 | .612 |
| 1926–35 | W.H. Britton | 9 | 80–73 | .523 |
| 1935–38 | Blair Gullion | 3 | 47–19 | .712 |
| 1938–47 | John Mauer | 8 | 126–40 | .759 |
| 1947–59 | Emmett Lowery | 12 | 169–110 | .606 |
| 1959–62 | John Sines | 3 | 26–45 | .366 |
| 1962–77 | Ray Mears | 15 | 278–112 | .713 |
| 1977–78 | Cliff Wettig | 1 | 11-16 | .407 |
| 1978–89 | Don DeVoe | 11 | 204–137 | .598 |
| 1989–94 | Wade Houston | 5 | 65–90 | .419 |
| 1994–97 | Kevin O'Neill | 3 | 36–47 | .434 |
| 1997–01 | Jerry Green | 4 | 89–36 | .712 |
| 2001–05 | Buzz Peterson | 4 | 61–59 | .508 |
| 2005–11 | Bruce Pearl | 6 | 145–61 | .704 |
| 2011–14 | Cuonzo Martin | 3 | 63–41 | .606 |
| 2014–15 | Donnie Tyndall | 1 | 16–16 | .500 |
| 2015–present | Rick Barnes | 9 | 205–101 | .670 |
Tennessee Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff 2024
The Tennessee Volunteers basketball team's coaching staff as of 2024 is listed below:
| Name | Title |
| Rick Barnes | Head Coach |
| Justin Gainey | Associate Head Coach |
| Rod Clark | Assistant Coach |
| Gregg Polinsky | Assistant Coach |
| Bryan Lentz | Assistant Coach |
| Lucas Campbell | Assistant Coach |
Associate Head Coach
In 2023–24, associate head coach Justin Gainey will begin his third season with the Tennessee Volunteers. Securing Gainey's services beyond the 2020–21 season was one of Rick Barnes' most important recruiting victories. Gainey is a seasoned coach with prior experience in the ACC, Pac-12, Big East, and other conferences. He offers 17 years of coaching and administrative experience at the Division I level.
Bryan Lentz who has been at Tennessee since 2018 has been promoted to his current role as assistant coach in 2024. He spent the last six years as the director of player development for Tennessee's men's basketball program. Lucas Campbell earned his promotion to assistant coach in July 2024 after spending the last two seasons as the director of recruiting with the program.
Assistant Coaches
In April 2021, Rick Barnes personally selected Rod Clark to become an assistant coach for the Tennessee basketball team. In his first two seasons at Rocky Top, 30-year-old Clark aided the Volunteers in winning the 2022 SEC Tournament and making it to the NCAA Tournament.
After Gregg Polinsky worked as a volunteer analyst for the UT staff for a year, Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes elevated Polinsky to the position of assistant coach in March 2022. It will be the third season with the Volunteers in 2023–2024.
Originating from St. Louis, Missouri, Polinsky led Georgia Southern as a Division I head coach from 1995 to 1999 before pursuing a career in scouting and front office work in the NBA.
Tennessee Men's Basketball Support Staff 2024
The Tennessee Volunteers basketball team's support staff is listed below, as of November 2024:
| Name | Title |
| Mary Carter Eggert | Director of Basketball Operations |
| Garrett Medenwald | Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance |
| Chad Newman | Athletic Trainer |
| Riley Collins | Assistant Director of Player Development |
| Luke Schapker | Director of Video and Analytics |
| Justin Caldwell | Player Development Coordinator |
| Scott Daughtry | Graduate Assistant |
| Isaiah Sulack | Graduate Assistant |
| Colin Coyne | Student Assistant Coach |
FAQ's On Tennessee basketball coach
A. Rick Barnes is the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team.
A. Rick Barnes guided the Texas Longhorns to 9 NCAA tournaments during his time as head coach, as of November 2024.
A. Justin Gainey is the Associate Head Coach for Tennessee men's basketball in 2024.
A. Justin Gainey brings 17 years of coaching and administrative experience to the Tennessee Volunteers as an Associate Head Coach.
A. Garrett Medenwald is the serving Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance for Tennessee in 2024.
