Fulmer addresses COVID-19 concerns

Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer addressed the media in a limited environment on Tuesday, addressing all concerns regarding the virus’ spread.

It’s been a whirlwind of a seven-day period for Tennessee athletics and the sports world as a whole. 

Both basketball programs had their postseason cut short, baseball and softball lost their seasons and the remainder of all SEC events were marked off the calendar after the Novel Coronavirus outbreak.

In a limited capacity on Tuesday, UT administrative officials and athletics personnel met with the media in a controlled environment: no microphones to be passed back and forth, no touching of the podium mic.

Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer expresses his profound disappointment for his student athletes, but believes the SEC made a wise choice.

“I’m heartbroken for our student athletes, who...have have seen the pursuit of their athletic goals interrupted,” Fulmer said. “We have put our competitive nature aside in the Southeastern Conference and come together to fight the spread of this virus.”

The former coach also went on to discuss the preventive measures that both the university and conference are taking to prevent the spread of the COVID-19. 

While UT’s workout facilities will remain closed, their nutrition, mental health and other facilities will continue operations.

Most athletes have gone home to their families  but Fulmer also addressed that those in need of remaining in Knoxville will be permitted to, calling this a challenging time for everyone.

“These are unprecedented times and times that are difficult for everyone,” Fulmer said. “Our teams, our coaches, our administration, media, fans. We’re all navigating this together.”

While there have been on confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Tennessee’s campus, the administration is taking all precautionary measures possible.

All commencement ceremonies scheduled for May, including the Chancellor’s Honors Banquet, have been cancelled and there is no word on when campus will officially reopen.