Facility: Thompson-Boling Arena
Capacity: 21,678
NCAA Championships: 8
SEC Regular-Season Championships: 18
SEC Tournament Championships: 17
The Tennessee Lady Vols women’s basketball team is one of the most storied ones in the sport’s history. It’s most known for Pat Summitt, who led the team from 1974-2012 and to all eight of its national championships. The Lady Vols remain strongly supported by their devoted fan base, averaging more than 8,000 fans per game. The team is now under the leadership of Kellie Harper, a former UT player who joined the program as head coach on April 9, 2019. Basketball games at Thompson-Boling Arena are memorable experiences, and they’re often well-fought contests between top teams. The SEC is annually one of the nation’s top leagues in this sport. If you’re a Tennessee sports fan or simply a women’s basketball fan, Tennessee Lady Vols women’s basketball games provide great opportunities for you to enjoy both. Grab your Tennessee Lady Vols women’s basketball tickets at StubHub.
This program is a historic one that dates to 1903. On March 13 of that year, the team played its first game, a 10-1 loss to Maryville. However, none were played from 1927-59. Pat Summitt’s first contest in charge of the Lady Vols was on December 7, 1974, an 84-83 loss to Mercer. She and her squad followed that up with six straight wins and ended that season with a 16-8 mark.
Tennessee claimed its first national championship in 1987. The Lady Vols entered that year’s NCAA Women’s Tournament with a 23-6 record and were able to play in front of their own fans in their first three games of that competition, wins over Tennessee Tech, 95-59, Virginia, 66-58, and Auburn, 77-61. Their subsequent trip to Austin, Texas, for the
NCAA Women’s Final Four
resulted in a 74-64 victory against Long Beach State and a 67-44 defeat of Louisiana Tech. UT would add to its national championship trophy haul in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008.
The Lady Vols have never missed the NCAA Women’s Tournament. They did come close in 2019, receiving one of the last four at-large spots and being seeded 11th in their region. That marked the first time that Tennessee had been seeded lower than seventh.
Thompson-Boling Arena
has played host to Tennessee Lady Vols basketball games since it opened in 1987. It’s one of the nation’s largest on-campus arenas, and the Lady Vols have been especially tough to beat here. UT entered the 2019-20 season with a 452-45 record in this facility. Tennessee had played at Stokely Athletic Center from 1976-87 and Alumni Gym from the 1930s until the move to Stokely.
Some of the Tennessee’s rivals are
Texas
,
UConn
,
Vanderbilt
,
Kentucky
,
Georgia
and
Louisiana Tech
. Its most significant rivalry on the national level is the one with UConn as the teams have combined for 19 national championships. They played in Hartford, Connecticut, on January 23, 2020, and will meet again in Knoxville during the 2020-21 campaign.
The Lady Vols have been a part of the SEC since that league added a championship in this sport with the 1979-80 season. Tennessee claimed that initial title on its home court in Knoxville. Tennessee last won the SEC regular-season championship in 2015 and the SEC Tournament in 2014.