When fans show up to Tennessee’s opener against Chattanooga on Friday evening, they’ll be in for a bit of a throwback in pregame warmups.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes confirmed that the Vols will wear the candy-striped orange-and-white warmup pants from the 1960s.
“Actually we wanted to do this a year ago, but it was too late in the making to get it done,” Barnes said on Monday. “I love tradition, I’m a big fan of tradition and, obviously, I remember those days – the Ernie and Bernie days – and those times. I just think it’s great to pay tribute to your past. Hopefully we can bring back some of those days. Those were great days for the people here and the Volunteer fanbase and I hope we can get it back to where we play at that level.”
Barnes even went as far as to model the look at his Monday press conference:
And Rick Barnes is out pic.twitter.com/wsKpMiPBUR
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 7, 2016
The Vols open Barnes’ second season in Knoxville on Friday evening against Chattanooga at 7 pm ET (SEC Network+). The Mocs are coming off a 2015-16 campaign that included a 29-6 record, a Southern Conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
“Any team that wins almost 30 games is a good team,” Barnes said. “And they have guys coming back. The thing we talk about is every game is an important game, and my line is if you don’t think it is big tonight, just wait until March.”
