Since Rick Barnes took over the Tennessee basketball program in 2015, he’s had unprecedented success. Securing his position as the most accomplished head coach in Vols hoops history, Barnes is starting to get his flowers. Coming off a third-straight Elite Eight appearance, UT dropped a trailer for an upcoming documentary about him titled ‘It’s Not About Me.’
‘It’s Not About Me’, or commonly abbreviated to INAM, is the slogan used inside of Barnes’ Tennessee program. The mentality has led to unselfish stars such as Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, Josiah-Jordan James, Nate Ament, Dalton Knecht, Chaz Lanier, Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Santiago Vescovi, Jordan Bone and many more finding not just personal, but team success in their college careers.
Here’s a look at the first trailer for the documentary, which will be released on July 30, 2026, on the Tennessee Athletics YouTube channel:
An underdog story. A redemption story.
A Rick Barnes Story.
It’s Not About Me premieres 7.30.26 on the Tennessee Athletics YouTube channel pic.twitter.com/dUvDt921zn
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) July 23, 2026
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In Barnes’ tenure as Tennessee’s head coach, he’s waded in waters no other Vol coach has. Overall, he’s 257-121 (122-73 SEC), leading UT to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, five trips to the Sweet 16 and three straight to the Elite Eight. That makes up three of the four total trips to the Elite Eight in program history.
From a standpoint of SEC success, he has taken home the regular season crown in 2017-18 and 2023-24 and the SEC Tournament title in 2021-22.
Now, Barnes’ squad is preparing for another highly-anticipated season with summer practice underway. The team features 12 newcomers, eight transfers and four freshmen, with expectations of making another deep NCAA Tournament run.
“It’s been good,” Barnes said on Friday. “There’s definitely been good progress. I think the guys, each and every day they’ve started to understand more and more what we’re looking for and probably more defensively than anything. And over the last couple of weeks I can see a lot of improvement in that area. And we’ve got today and then one more week before they head out, but up to this point, it’s been a really good summer for us.”
Other stops in Barnes’ head coaching career include George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas. He holds an 861-435 (.664) record in his career, dating back to the 1987-88 season. He played his college hoops at Lenoir-Rhyne and is from Hickory, North Carolina.
