The 1916 Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee Volunteers

The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the National Collegiate Athletic Association college sports teams at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mike Hamilton is the most recent Men's Athletic Director, but resigned on June 7, 2011, and Joan Cronan is the current Women's...

 football team represented the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

 in the 1916 college football season

1916 college football season

The 1916 college football season had a very clear cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Army and Pittsburgh as national champions. Only Pittsburgh claims a national championship for the 1916 season....

. John R. Bender

John R. Bender

John R. "Chief" Bender was an American football player and coach of football, basketball and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Washington State University , Haskell Indian Nations University , Kansas State University , and the University of Tennessee , compiling a career record of...

 served his first season as head coach of the Volunteers. He came to Tennessee from Kansas State

Kansas State Wildcats football

The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference...

, effectively switching jobs with former Volunteers head coach Zora G. Clevenger

Zora G. Clevenger

Zora G. Clevenger was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and pioneering athletic director. He served as the head football coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University , the University of Tennessee , and Kansas State University , compiling a record of 47–32–7...

.

The 1916 Vols won eight games and lost none. The only blemish on Tennessee record was a scoreless draw with Kentucky

Kentucky Wildcats football

The Kentucky Wildcats football team is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.-History:Paul "Bear" Bryant Era...

 in the last game of the season, preventing them from winning the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS football programs were members of this conference at some point, as were at least 19 other schools...

 championship for the second time in three years. This season also saw the first homecoming football game in Tennessee football history, against Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt Commodores football

The Vanderbilt Commodores football program is a college football team that represents Vanderbilt University. The team currently competes in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Southeastern Conference...

. Because of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Tennessee did not field another varsity squad until 1919.

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