Tennessee basketball legend Chris Lofton will be enshrined in the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class, Tennessee announced on Thursday.
Lofton, a native of Maysville, KY, spent four years with the Tennessee basketball program from 2004 to 2008. During his time on Rocky Top, Lofton embarked on a legendary career that would eventually see his name in the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena at the Food City Center.
By the time his senior year had ended, the 6-foot-2 guard had achieved a number of accolades, including the AP SEC Player of the Year in 2007, a three-time First Team All-SEC selection, and a three-time All-American selection.
Lofton was a natural shooter with the ball in his hands. His 2,131 career points are good for fourth in Tennessee program history and 11th in SEC history. The perimeter sharpshooter is the SEC’s all-time three-point leader with 431 career makes, and his 42.2% mark from deep is good for second in Tennessee’s history and fifth in the SEC’s history.
Lofton was at the center of many memorable moments during his Tennessee career, but one that stands out for Vol fans across the country was his shot over Kevin Durant during the 2006-2007 season. With the Volunteers hosting Rick Barnes’ Texas Longhorns on a cold December night just two days before Christmas, Lofton delivered one of the great moments in Tennessee baseball history.
With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Tennessee trailed Texas, 87-85, on its home court. Lofton took the ball on the wing with 25 seconds on the clock and moved his way to the top of the key as Durant, a freshman phenom for the Longhorns, switched onto him. Without an ounce of fear, Lofton pulled up and delivered a deep three over the future NBA champion. The ball went in, nothing but net. Tennessee beat No. 5 Texas on that night, 111-105, in an overtime thriller. Lofton’s 35 points bested Durant’s 26 points to put a stamp on one of the most memorable nights that Tennessee basketball has seen.
“When you think about, I’ve never met anyone that can say an ill thing about Chris,” Barnes said about Lofton before his jersey retirement during the 2023 season. “When you come into a situation like we did eight years ago, and you want to build something special, but you also know you need past players and people involved to help you do that, he embraced us. He really, from the time he came around, one, because he loves this university so much… He’s such a great person. And it’s more. The way he loves the program. I don’t know of any era that doesn’t love him because of the way he loves this place.”
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Chris Lofton joined the Vol Network team before the 2025-2026 college basketball season and is currently a color commentator on Mike Keith’s team.
Lofton will be inducted alongside 10 other UT legends during Hall of Fame Weekend on April 10 and 11.
The other inductees into the 2026 Hall of Fame class include baseball coach Rod Delmonico, women’s basketball player Shyra Ely, men’s track and field athlete Lawrence Johnson, women’s golfer Erica Popson, football offensive lineman Charles Rosenfelder, soccer star Kylee Rossi, women’s track and field athlete Brenda Webb, and softball coach Ralph Weekly.
For a full look at Tennessee Athletics’ 2026 Hall of Fame announcement, click here.
