UTSports Women's Athletics
UTSports Women's Athletics
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What is a Lady Volunteer?

The formation of the Women's Intercollegiate Athletics Department for the 1976-1977 academic year prompted much discussion concerning the proper nickname for the distaff athletes. After long consideration and debate, it was decided the female student-athletes would be known as "Lady Volunteers," or simply the "Lady Vols."

The University of Tennessee, as the state's land grant university, draws the nickname of its athletic teams (Volunteers) from the name most associated with the state. Tennessee acquired the name "The Volunteer State" in the early days of the 19th century when General Andrew Jackson mustered large armies from his home state to fight the Indians and later the British at the Battle of New Orleans.

The name became even more prominent in the Mexican War when Governor Aaron V. Brown issued a call for 2,800 men to battle Santa Ana. The people of Tennessee heard the request and an astounding 30,000 volunteered.

The name "Volunteers" or "Lady Volunteers" is frequently shortened to "Vols" or "Lady Vols" for the men's and women's athletic teams.