2008-09 Lady Vols Basketball Schedule (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, the defending 2007 and 2008 NCAA Champions, released the basketball schedule for the 2008-09 season today.

In addition to the familiar faces of the Southeastern Conference foes, the Lady Vols will also run the gauntlet of powerhouses tangling with Rutgers, Oklahoma, Texas, Duke and NCAA runner-up Stanford. Tennessee will also take on traditional rivals Virginia, Chattanooga, Louisiana Tech, DePaul, George Washington, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion and Gonzaga.

A pair of games will feature former Lady Vol players turned head coaches as Kellie Jolly Harper returns home with her Western Carolina squad and Tanya Haave visits with her University of San Francisco Lady Dons -- a first time UT opponent.

“Another competitive schedule for the coming year,” said Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt, who is beginning her 35th season at Tennessee and is the NCAA’s all-time winningest coach starting the campaign at 983-182. “This schedule is exciting and challenging and will help to prepare us for post-season play.

“Once again, I’m thrilled that we’ll be playing 17 home dates (including the exhibition games) in our arena. Our young team will certainly benefit from playing in front of our great fans -- they will be treated to a tremendous home schedule,” said Summitt.

Home schedule highlights include a rematch of the 2008 NCAA Championship game versus Stanford in Knoxville, as well as the Jolly Harper and Haave homecoming games. “I am glad that we were able to schedule both Kellie and Tanya’s teams at home this season,” said Summitt. “I am proud of them and the success they have enjoyed as college coaches. It is so gratifying to see almost 70 former members of the Lady Vol basketball family involved in coaching at the professional, collegiate and high school levels,” said Summitt.

In all, UT will be facing competition from 10 different conferences including a pair of universities each from the ACC, Big 12, BIG EAST, Southern and the West Coast Conferences.

The season gets underway with a pair of exhibition tune-ups, with Carson-Newman on Nov. 6 and Love & Basketball on Nov. 9. The Lady Vols officially open the season at home on Nov. 15 facing the University of San Francisco.

The remainder of the November slate includes a visit from the ACC’s University of Virginia on Nov. 17 and a trip down the road to Chattanooga on Nov. 21 before the Lady Vols close out the month at Thompson-Boling Arena with three consecutive home dates facing long-time rival Louisiana Tech on Nov. 23, Jolly Harper’s Western Carolina Catamounts on Nov. 25 and BIG EAST foe DePaul on Nov. 30.

Tennessee starts the December portion of its schedule on the road at George Washington University on Dec. 2. UT will take a break for final exams and resumes playing hoops on Dec. 11 taking on Middle Tennessee State in Knoxville. The Lady Vols will then hit the road for a pair of games traveling to Texas on Dec. 14 and visiting Old Dominion on Dec. 18. The Big Orange returns home to take on Stanford in a Sunday night (Dec. 21) prime time meeting on ESPN2. The Lady Vols defeated the Cardinal last April in the 2008 NCAA Final Four title game. Following a break for the Christmas holidays, Tennessee will head to Spokane, Washington, for an Angie Bjorklund homecoming game at Gonzaga on Dec. 30.

In January, the Lady Vols open the 2009 side of the schedule on the road against BIG EAST foe Rutgers on Jan. 3 in a marquee CBS showdown. Back in Knoxville, UT opens SEC play facing Kentucky at home on Jan. 8. The Big Orange then travels to Vanderbilt (Jan. 11) and Mississippi State (Jan. 15) before hosting South Carolina (Jan. 18). UT then travels to Arkansas (Jan. 22) and Auburn (Jan. 25) before returning to the Arena to face Mississippi (Jan. 29).

To open the month of February, the Lady Vols step out of conference play for an ESPN2 “Big Monday” meeting at Oklahoma (Feb. 2) and returns home to face Georgia in a key SEC game on Feb. 5. Other February home dates include Alabama (Feb. 12), an ESPN2 “Big Monday” meeting with Duke (Feb. 16), and Mississippi State (Feb. 22). February road trips include jaunts to Florida (Feb. 8), Kentucky (Feb. 19) and at LSU (Feb. 25).

UT plays a rare March regular season game entertaining Vanderbilt in the regular season finale on Mar. 1. Tennessee will play home-and-home SEC games with Kentucky and Mississippi State this season to go along with its annual home-and-home traditional rival contests versus Vanderbilt.

“Once again this year, the SEC – from top to bottom -- will be as strong as it has ever been,” professed Summitt. “We’ve had an infusion of some new coaches making a tough league, even tougher. To be sure, the SEC schedule will be extremely challenging.”

In the postseason, the 2009 Southeastern Conference Tournament will venture to North Little Rock, Arkansas, Mar. 5-8. While the NCAA festivities kicks-off with First/Second Round games Mar. 21-24 and four NCAA Regionals, Mar. 28-31. The season will culminate with the 2009 NCAA Final Four at the Scottrade Center, in St. Louis, Mo., April 5 & 7.

“It’s no surprise that we’ve taken on another challenging schedule for the coming season,” said Summitt. “I’m excited that our fans will get to enjoy such a great line-up of games in Thompson-Boling Arena.”

Fans interested in season tickets should call the Tennessee Athletic Ticket Office at 865-656-1200

• Season tickets will be on sale Sept. 3.
• Single game tickets will go on sale in October.
• Any available tickets in the 100 level and Courtside 200 level seats are $245 each
• 200 level end zone seats are $235
• 300 level season tickets are $160 (less than $10 per game)
• The price of a 300 level season ticket has been reduced (a $75 savings), as we wanted to continue with the long tradition of making Lady Vol basketball accessible to all Tennessee fans.
• Family plan season tickets, minimum of 4, are $120 per ticket for 100 level seats (limited quantity available) and $90 per ticket for 300 level
• The lineup of game for the Coca-Cola Six Pack will be announced in September, the package will be $120.