Tony Vitello Gets Emotional Describing ‘Special Year’ For Tennessee Athletics

Tony Vitello
Tennessee HC Tony Vitello. Photo via Tennessee Athletics

With emotions still high coming off a season-ending loss, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello turned his praise towards the entire UT Athletics Department in the immediate moments after the game on Sunday afternoon.

“If you’re a Vol fan, it was a pretty special year,” Vitello said during his opening press conference statement.

During his time on Rocky Top, and especially during this boom period for the athletics program, Vitello has often resembled one of the Tennessee fans who buys a ticket to a game. He’s been seen wearing Zakai Zeigler jerseys during basketball games and tackling assistant coaches on the sidelines before football games, soaking in all the ups and downs just like the fans.

On Sunday, he reflected on what fans have been able to see throughout an impressive year for Tennessee Athletics.

“You got to have all the office conversations, maybe even go all the way up to Columbus with football,” Vitello continued on to say. “I could go on and on with a bunch of other sports. You got one of the best men on the planet leading your basketball team, and you got to have all the fun that those guys provided. Women’s basketball couldn’t have been more exciting. You got to go watch the softball World Series in person if you wanted to. I’m leaving plenty out, especially with tennis and swimming and diving and some other things that have gone on. But it can always be better, and no one will let you know more than SEC fans, but I think things are going in an outstanding direction, not just on our campus, but in the city.”

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Vitello’s praise for the programs didn’t take the place of acknowledging the loss, it just preceded it. The Tennessee coach knew there was more on the table for the team, but he’s taking motivation from the rest of the department to continue pushing forward despite capturing the NCAA trophy in 2024.

“So it’ll be up to us to continue to improve because, mainly myself, could have done better this year,” Vitello said to close his opening statement. “But at the same time, even though we’re a little short of winning today and pushing to a game three, there’s lots to take pride in for these guys to my left (Hunter Ensley and AJ Russell) and then the other guys.”

Tennessee finished the season with a 49-19 overall record, a 16-14 mark in conference play, and a 32-10 record at home in Knoxville. The Vols etched another conference honor into their books as Liam Doyle won the SEC Pitcher of the Year award while Andrew Fischer tied Tennessee’s all-time single-season walks record.

The Vols’ season came to a close on Sunday afternoon with a two-game sweep at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Fayetteville Super Regional. Tennessee fell by a score of 4-3 in the first game of the series before being eliminated in an 11-4 loss on Sunday. The Vols reached the Supers by capturing the Knoxville Regional with wins over Miami (OH), Cincinnati, and Wake Forest. This was the fifth straight Super Regional round that Vitello has led the Vols to, which is the longest active streak in college baseball.

Check out Tony Vitello’s full Sunday postgame press conference below:

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