Home of the Volunteers, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville is known primarily for it's award winning football program. However, as the state's flagship land grant institution, academics and research play a very important role in the University as well, and dismissing it as merely a "football school" does little credit to the school and may obscure the academic progress made by the researchers and faculty of the university.

Academics

The University of Tennessee currently offers 105 options for bachelor's degrees, but it also has a program that allows the construction of one's own degree under the supervision of a faculty mentor. The school also offers 94 options for Masters degrees and 67 options for Doctorates. Currently about 28,000 students attend UT, and the university employs approximately 1,200 members of faculty. The school has seven libraries, ranging from the main collection at Hodges to the largest law library in the state of Tennessee.

Research

The University of Tennessee is one of the leading research institutions in the nation due to its close ties with the Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In 2002 the university spend nearly $195 million on research. Research projects range from Economic and Human Capital Development in Rural Areas by the College of Agriculture to the Cosmic Ray Detection Project performed by the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Athletics

While the University of Tennessee has teams in sports from lacrosse to badminton, the primary activity on campus is preparing for and attending UT football games. Fall at UT is dominated by the sound of Rocky Top blaring from Neyland Stadium and the drunken college students that attend these games. The football program is headed by Coach Phillip Fulmer, who currently has the highest winning percentage of any NCAA coach.

While most people come to UT to see the football team, the university is also proud host to the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, whose Coach Pat Summitt has led the team to over 800 wins and nine national championships.

History of the University

The University of Tennessee first opened its doors as Blount College in 1794, two years before Tennessee was admitted into the United States. The college began as an institute for young people of "moral and virtuous conduct," meaning, simply put, the sons of the richest members of the territory. In 1862 the Morrill act was passed by Congress, which granted federally owned lands to states that would found agricultural and mechanical colleges. Morrill's name lives on in the University today as a Residence Hall.

Notable alumni of the university include Ambassador to Japan and Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, Prime Minister of Jordan Ali Hussein Abu Ragheb, NFL star Peyton Manning, Nobel Prize winning economist James Buchanan, and eleven astronauts.