TENNESSEE VOLS FOOTBALL: Dickey left his mark on UT program

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Before vacating Knoxville for a return to his alma mater Florida, coach Doug Dickey left a lasting touch on Tennessee football. 

The “Power T” logo on players’ helmets? Dickey did that. 

He also conceived the Vols’ pre-game pass through Pride of the Southland marching band’s T formation.

The checkerboard-painted endzones at Neyland Stadium? Another Dickey decision. 

Perhaps most importantly, Dickey was the first to integrate a previously all-white UT team with his recruitment of running back Albert Davis, the first African American player to be offered a scholarship to dress for the Vols. The school ultimately denied Davis entry. 

Resolute, Dickey recruited wide receiver Lester Lang, who was admitted and became the first Black player on the Tennessee squad. 

Dickey’s coaching career began with a six-year stint at Arkansas, where he assisted head coach Frank Broyles for four years on defense and two while leading the offense. In 1964, he was hired as head coach at Tennessee, finishing 4-5-1 his first season. 

In 1965, Dickey earned SEC Coach of the Year and a repeated honor in 1967, accompanying his team’s SEC Championship win and No. 2 ranking that year. In 1969, his Vols clinched a second conference title before falling to Florida 14-13 in the Gator Bowl. Over six seasons, Dickey’s UT teams included future College Football Hall of Fame players Steve Kiner, Bob Johnson and Steve DeLong.

Dickey departed Tennessee for Gainsville after his team’s Gator Bowl defeat, leading Florida football over nine seasons and four bowl game appearances. Across his tenures at both schools, he finished with a 104-58-6 record. 

Dickey dipped his toe in business before returning to UT in 1985 as athletics director, where he served until his 2003 retirement.

Dickey received the John Toner Award (1998) from the National Football Foundation, recognizing his work as an athletics administrator, and the Robert Neyland Memorial Trophy (2001) for his contributions to college football. He was named Tennessean of the Year (2000) by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.

Dickey, who is 94 now, was inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame (2003) and University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame (2019) as a coach.

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